Privilege
by Gray Skyed
Summary: His life was planned for him, and he accepted it. But one small thing lost in the snow was about to change all of that. One thing to make him realize everything he really wanted. Angst, Fantasy, AU 1x2 other pairings later.
1. Chapter 1

Heero POV

I was born into privilege, I admit it. Life had changed for most of our kind... We had evolved so to speak, grown wiser than the humans, or, at least wise enough to compete and survive. No one creature knows when our kind branched off from the wolves, but it surely saved us from extinction. The wolves of old time were long gone. We were the hybrids, the future. We looked like a weird symbiosis of human and wolf in our half forms, but could still cloak ourselves as full wolfs in our pure forms. We created packs, to hunt and survive, packs turned into colonies as we civilized. Somewhere along the way we lost the ability to have discerning genders.

At first any one born as a male and female was put to death, labeled as a curse. But as time grew, our kind realized the true potential. A whole species but two could be wiped out, and it wouldn't matter which two survived. It gave us the upper hand in the survival game. Generation after generation was integrated before it became common for wolves to be born as both a male and female. After decades of war with humans we made pacts and learned to live peacefully with them, well, more like, we learned to avoid each other. The wolf hybrids were forced into the uninhabitable areas. The boiling heat of the desert, the chilling cold of the mountain. My pack is a mountain base pack. We live in a large snow filled valley nestled at the base of the Andes Mountains. We were lucky, there chill is not so bad during the winter, even though there is a lot of snow. There is also not too much heat during the summer. Its certainly nothing balmy like the humans have, but considering what other packs have to endure, we are to be envied.

I will start by explaining our packs. There are ranks in every pack, or colony, depending on the size. Our area is only big enough to support a large pack. Any creature born as purely male is considered Alpha potential, but there can only be one Alpha. All other potential Alpha's who do not reach that title, are called Beta's. They are the warriors and the hard workers. Anyone born as both male and female is considered a Gamma. They are considered treasures, despite their lower status. Just because of their great potential, they are the most protected of a pack. They can never be Alpha's just because of their ability to bear children, and that can make them too weak for such a position, but they are given much more range in life. They can be hard workers or village workers, depending on if they are, or are attempting to bare pups. They can be healers, bakers, or even warriors if they are no longer able to give birth. The lowest of the pole is the Delta's. The pure females. They are seen as weak, they can only be village workers, unless born to an Alpha, in which case they are considered much like the siblings of royalty.

At first the packs had constant battles, many Beta's dying in the fight for Alpha. The packs suffered and dwindled... I don't know about other packs but my father was wise and managed to end this. To create my privileged life... He let the Beta's live, having them pledge their allegiance in exchange for their lives. Our villaged thrived as all the Beta's could breed and thus more and more pups were born. In his rein the pack more than doubled in size and strength. He managed to get all the Beta's to agree not to challenge his son, however their pups were allowed to challenge me. I still had the advantage of not being attacked and killed off when I was young. I would be able to survive and grow to my full potential before having to fight for my position as true alpha of the pack. My father expected no less of me, and many of the pack had even agreed not to contend for alpha, knowing they could not live up to my father's record. As a young pup it appeared my competition for leadership was slim to none... oh yes... I was privileged compared to most.

I was raised for greatness, given the best of the foods and stocks to make me strong and tutored by the best of the best, my father. I was rarely allowed to play or explore. But when I did,I was a wild creature... It was this innate trait to be wild and free that lead me to the biggest adventure of my life...

The guards had been given permission to take me to forest at the base of the mountains. The trees were sparse and the snow, thick. I was but a small pup and it made it up to my chest, I had to jump just to move around. My black silver fur was stark against the snow. I was informed that as I grew older my coat color would change, but for now I looked like an inkblot on paper. I had been splashing around the snow for a half a turn of the hour glass before the guards grew tired of babysitting. They called to me to return, and as an obedient child I began to follow, until the most pitiful sound reached my ears.

--

yep, its short but it's something. This is much more fantasy geared than my last so its WAY AU. This is just a small prologue


	2. Chapter 2

_I I had been splashing around the snow for a half a turn of the hour glass before the guards grew tired of babysitting. They called to me to return, and as an obedient child I began to follow, until the most pitiful sound reached my ears._

It sounded like something dying, well more like a baby rabbit dying to be honest. A voice so small and pathetic, it intrigued me. I bounded towards it, the guards spinning on their heels as soon as they heard the snow crunching, signaling my departure from their presence. They pursued me, obviously thinking the worst, that I was trying to escape. But I ceased my movements after just a few bounds. Gazing around in confusion, I was positive I had heard something, but I couldn't see a rabbit, or squirrel or even a bird. But then it happened again and I jumped to my left. Gazing in shock at a creature of pure white, lying atop the snow, barely breathing. It was a pup, and he appeared to be about the same age as me. I had never seen a pure white coat before, the closest I had seen to such a light color was Quatre's light golden coat. Thick black lines surrounded the eyes and the nose was pitch black. It whimpered again and I was struck as to what I should do. The guards stumbled upon the scene, and my father's top Beta, Noventa, took it upon himself to handle it. I saw him stalking in, to kill the pup. After all it must be from a rival pack, it certainly was not one of our own... the nearest pack to us was the forest wolves, and they were always challenging us. But I wouldn't have it, this creature intrigued me.

"Noventa don't!"

_"Don't be so foolish Heero, this pup is from the forest pack, he is a rival."_

" But he doesn't look like a forest pup, they are all a mealy brown and he is white... plus he is hurt and just a pup. Please, don't kill him"

I saw Noventa's lip lift in a snarl, he obviously was not amused by my childish fears and emotions. He saw only the end of the tunnel. It was a potential enemy and must die. I pleaded with my eyes and the other guard, Riley, conceded.

**"Let's just take it back to Odin and see what he says... Heero has a point, it doesn't look like a forest pup. Plus he is so young, its still possible we could raise him as one of our own. He is obviously abandoned and will likely die on his own, let's not upset the prince, else we will likely hear no end of it from his mother."**

Riley moved forward to clasp the small pup in his teeth. I watched closely to make sure he didnt clamp too hard. I would not be fooled by a ruse, I had plans for this pup..

The whole trek home I kept my eyes fixated on the white creature in Riley's teeth. I wanted to be sure Riley was not just trying to fake protecting it. Though... admittedly I did not envy his position. He was now stuck between my father, and I. After all, I was not delusional. I knew what my father would not approve when he found out. Odin was wise, but also cunning and ruthless. He had not built his empire on emotions.

We were only half way home but I could already picture the look of disapproval when he discovered my actions. I was not disappointed when he saw us trotting up, the white pup in Riley's mouth. The snow in our village was mostly melted. Due to the pack wandering around the streets. The pup was stark against the peppered ground when Riley set the limp figure down. I wondered for a moment if he was even still alive. We had not heard a sound from him since picking him up.. was he already gone? A snarl was all I heard, but we all knew what it meant. The two guards followed my father into the warriors den, while I waited outside. He probably assumed it had all been Riley's idea. After all, I never acted out or misbehaved, and Noventa was as loyal as they came.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Riley lift the pup from the ground and pad into the Den after my father and Noventa. I stayed put, like a good boy, and waited for the voices to echo out the entrance, as I knew they would.

It didn't take long for my expectations to be met. I could hear the back end of most of the conversation. Mostly it was **_"What were you thinking"_** and_** "Why didn't you kill it!?"**_ From what I could gather, Riely made no reference to this all being my idea. The idiot was about to ruin all my plans, my father would never give in if it was for Riley. When I heard my father say _**"Well if you two won't kill it, then I will"**_. I knew it was about time for me to step in.

I moved swiftly into the den, a determined look in my eyes. When I came to the end of the tunnel and the opening of the den I could see the pup lying on the floor, and my father and the two guards surrounding him. I let out a pathetic combination of a bark mixed with a growl.

"Father no, don't kill him. I was the one who saved him, not Riley". I think my father had never been so shocked before in his life.

_**"What foolish notion is this, Heero! He is our enemy"**_

I yelped back "We don't know that father, he is white, not brown like the forest wolves. Plus he is just a pup, too young to be harmful. I was hoping to make him my play mate.. to.."

A snarl was my reply **_"So you want a distraction from your training, a weakness. If you want to be the best you can't afford such things!"_**

"But father you had friends and playmates growing up, you have no idea how I will turn out... just ... please. I have never asked you for something like this before. I promise to stick to my training, it will just be entertainment for when I am bored."

_**"Fine, but if your training slips, I will dispose of him."**_

I nodded as he exited the den with the guards in tow. I moved over to the limp figure, still lying on the ground. I could see the small chest rising up and down, and felt relieved that he was at least still alive. But what to do with him now...

--

not as long as I would like. Not exactly a cliff hanger either. But I basically have had this for a few days and been meaning to get it up or work on it. Seeing as I am not really awake enough to work on it atm. I figured posting it would be just as good... right?


	3. Chapter 3

question answer time, yay! Someone mentioned Odin wanting Heero to have loyal friends. He does but he does not want Heero to make friends with someone who is possibly an enemy so that's why he is apprehensive, if that explains it a bit better.

* * *

He started to whimper and I jumped back. Slowly the two coal-lined eyelids pulled away, revealing deep iris orbs beneath them. I think I stopped breathing for a few moments at the color. I had never seen anything so strange, so exotic, in my entire life. His eyes darted about, and his form began to shake. A low, weak voice fluttered from his mouth.

_**"Where am I, and who are you?"**_

I had to be careful, this was a good chance to find out what clan he had originated from, whether it was our rivals in the forest pack or if he had come from a far land as a pup to one of the outcasts of a group.

**"I am... a friend. This is my home village. I rescued you from the cold snow at the base of the mountains... What clan are you from? What is your name?"**

It was not uncommon for us to know the names of our rival leaders and some of their pups or best warriors. But this pup did not look like much to behold. He was just about as tall as me and appeared to be of the proper size and weight, but he had no muscle from what I could gather, he just seemed like a normal pup.

_**"I don't know. The last thing I remember clearly was hearing someone shout "Duo no!". Then there was this big crackling noise and a crash and I remember going really fast but thats all I can remember..."**_

**"So then is your name Duo?"**

_**"I can't remember... it sounds right... Duo, yeah that sounds so familiar. But I can't remember anything else. I woke up once before and I couldn't remember who I was with or where I came from. Just the voice shouting and that was it. I tried to move around but everything hurt and after a few minutes the world just went stark white, then black... then I woke up here."**_

Well if this pup was from the forest pack, this was an awfully well put together story and he was quite the pretender. I stood up, starting to walk away.

**"Follow me, I will take you to the village healer, that is, if you can walk."**

I watched the white wolf stumble gracelessly to his feet. He appeared to be having trouble with his front left paw, and as he started to follow me I could see a bad limp, and a wince in his face whenever he moved. I felt bad for the little pup, but I couldn't carry him, I was too small, and fetching the healer to come here would be seen as an osestensious display. I needed to make sure to show no weaknesses or vanity. It was a short walk to Nanashi's dwelling. He was the father of Trowa, one of the stronger pups in the village. As usual when I entered the large tree converted into a medical dwelling. Quatre was right there to greet me. Quatre had his heart set on being a healer, so he was constantly here, watching and learning. I don't think Nanashi ever minded, and I know Trowa didn't. It was funny to watch the way he stuttered and got frustrated whenever Quatre tried to talk to him. I saw Quatre's and Nan's eyes widen at the site of the pure white pup struggling in behind me. Perhaps it was foolish to think, but I almost felt as if he was a posession, a rare creature that I had captured and needed to show off.

**"Mr. Nanashi, I need you to look at my new friend here. He is hurt and needs your assistance."**

I could see him nod dumbly before walking mindlessly over to the pup. It seemed like I had been there for hours, Quatre and Nan staring at Duo, as if he was some miracle of nature, and looking him over. I was keeping track of the sun outside, and saw my time was drawing short. I had to be home soon or there would be no end of my punishment.

**"So is he done yet?"**

I tried to speed things along as best I could. Poor Duo looked terrified, like some animal in a cage being poked at. That seemed to rein in Nan and Quat's pool of seemingly endless curiosity. A low grumble from a throat being cleared was my response for a few moments.

_"Well it appears your friend sprained some of the bones in his foot so I have made a brace for it to keep him from putting pressure on it. He mostly had cuts and bruises and a bad hit to the head, which seems to have mostly healed. Just make sure he stays off his leg for a few weeks and he should heal back to normal."_

I nodded and began to exit the dwelling, only stopping when I realized Duo was not following.**"Come Duo, you are to follow me, understood?"**

I felt a little bad when he gave me a slightly scared look, and I realized it almost sounded like he was my slave. But I guess, to some degree, that's what he was. But he follow behind me, all the same, his movements a little ragged but no longer limping or painful. I finally made it to my dwelling when the sun was half hidden on the horizon. I was not late really, but I certainly ws close and I knew that would not bode well. I entered the first area of my home, a small door that led into a small room with another door. My mother was meticulous about keeping the house clean, so I made sure to shake off my dirt and get my paws clean as best I could, signaling to Duo to do the same.

I entered into my dwelling through the second door, and received an intense glare from my father as Duo trailed behind me. Our house was dug into a large hill, it was the most grand of the dwellings, and very sturdy. Wooden beams held up the entire structure, and windows had been dug out to let light in. Tile was layed down and even carpet in some areas, the walls were lined with wood and the ceiling was wooden as well. It was a very stable place, more secure than most of the other places in the village. The only problems that ever seemed to come was in situations of extremely bad weather, the entry space that was created to remove dirt would collapse since it had no support. It was easy to dig our way out when that happened though.

My mother's cheerful greeting flitted in the house "Why hello darling, who is your friend here"

Before my mother could even touch him, my father let out a deep growl. In the house they bother prefered to stay in hybrid form, to keep the amount of hair to a lower level. We seemed to shed less in that form, but for a pup like me or Duo, we had not yet learned how to change like that, and were stuck in pure form until trained.

_**"Don't touch him, why did you bring him here Heero?"**_

**"But father where else is he going to stay?"**

My father snorted in distaste, but relented as my mom set down enough bowls for all of us, including Duo. I was lucky Duo was wise enough to keep quiet and keep his head down and his actions very non-threatening. Once the house was properly cared for and it was time to sleep I crawled into my bed, motioning for Duo to follow. Most pups were born in litters. I had been one of two, but my brother had been a stillborn. Just another reason I was lucky. My mother and father slept in the main room to the front, which also housed the kitchen and dining room. I slept in the secondary room where we stored extra things and had company. We kept our dwellings small, and easy to maintain. Duo began to crawl into bed with me until my father grabbed him around the neck and lifted him by his scruff. It frightened him badly and he let out a startling loud yelp. My father winced at the sound but kept his voice harsh nonetheless.

_**"You do not sleep inside, you will sleep outside"**_

**"But father it is too cold out, he will freeze to death, he does not have an adult coat."**

_**"He is sleeping in the entry way Heero, and he may have a small fur to keep him warm. If he is not strong enough to survive the night in there on his own then he is not strong enough to be here."**_

I saw Duo's pleading eyes looking at me, but there was nothing more I could do but nod and go to fetch the best fur I could find for him. I saw my father toss him into the small entry room and I followed him in with the fur, dropping it from my mouth in front of him. My father spun on his heels and walked away while I took a moment to talk to Duo.

**"He is really not so bad once you get to know him, he is just very strict. Don't worry I am sure he will let you sleep inside once he knows you're not from he forest pack, and here to kill us. Just... try not to provoke him and don't cause any trouble okay?"**

**_"HEERO! Get out of there and get to bed now!"_**

I winced at the tone and took one last glance at Duo before leaving. I heard a small whisper that made me feel horrible. But I knew this was the only way. I had heard Duo say that he didn't want to be alone, and he was scared. It was obvious he had not meant for me to hear it, but that didn't make me feel any less guilty...

* * *

I know Nanashi means no name just to put that out there... I just thought it would be interesting to use and may explain why in later chapters if I am not too lazy about it since he is such a small side chary

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

I felt bad that Duo was stuck in the entry way, I felt even worse when my dad almost ripped his head off for whimpering and scratching the door. But I was not foolish enough to go directly against my dad's wishes. Every now and then I could talk him into things but I had seriously overused that talent with just convincing him to keep Duo, much less letting him stay in our own house. I wasn't sure exactly why but I kept thinking of Duo as a possession, and not a companion, I really needed to stop that...

I went to sleep not too long after Odin shouted at Duo for crying. The next morning my eyes shot open as I remembered everything. I lept from my warm bed and sneaked into the main room, where father and mother were still asleep. I padded as quietly as I could, knowing the littlest thing would wake father. I pushed the entry way door open a little and saw Duo curled up in the fur I left him, sleeping quietly and soundly. I knew waking him up would cause a scene so I pulled the door shut as carefully as possible. There was a small click when it was completely closed and I spun to see Odin's eyes open and glaring at me. I ducked my head and tucked my tail and quickly slunk across the floor, his eyes following me the whole way. Odds are he would go back to sleep and let this slide. I jumped back into my bed and stretched, lying on top of the furs and contemplating the last day or so of my life. I fought to stay awake but it was useless and I soon drifted back into the land of dreams.

The smell of breakfast sizzling in the kitchen and the warm sun on my fur woke me up again. I stretched and came out into the main room again, the smell pulling me along. I could see the door was still shut, and Duo was still in the entry room. My mother hinted at the door, as if a signal to let me know it was okay for Duo to come inside. I peaked through the door and saw him curled up asleep in the fur. I whispered his name and he seemed reluctant to wake. Even as my voice rose, his chest continued to rise and fall in sleep. Finally I gave up on trying to wake him with my voice and gave him a shove with my paw which seemed to draw him reluctantly from his sleep. When he made to fall back asleep I told him if he didn't get up he would get no breakfast. He remained still for a few moments, as if weighing his options before finally rising from the fur and entering into the kitchen area with his tail tucked and his ears back as if afraid my father would kick him out again. But Odin had gone for the morning patrol along the borders already, which means Duo had slept right through him leaving through the main entrance.

After breakfast we journeyed out into the town and Quatre seemed to be waiting for us on the main street.

"Hey Heero, mind if Duo comes and hangs out with me while you are in training? I mean its not like you can taking him with you to training."

Without even thinking much about it I responded. "Sure you can have him while I am training, just make sure you give him back once I am done."

Quatre looked practically like he was beaming, but Duo didn't look as pleased. He had yet to really voice any deep emotions but his body language told me he was upset. I figured it was just a slight fear of Quatre from having to go to the doctor, but he would get over it with time, Quatre was one of the nicest pups in the pack.

Things went just like that for weeks I had to practically drag the reluctant Duo from bed, then we would eat breakfast and he would be handed off to Quatre and I would go to training. After training he would be picked up and would either help me train or I would drag him places to do things with me and play. Unfortunately he didn't seem to be getting any less apprehensive about his meetings with Quatre and finally one morning, when I threatened the typical no breakfast threat, he just rolled back over and acted like he was going back to sleep. When I went to leave I had to snap at him to follow me. I couldn't be late for training, that would be disastrous. I dropped Duo off with Quatre and went off to running the borders with my father. When I done and allowed free time Duo was practically dragging his feet. Quatre bounded over to me, very excited.

"Heero, can I have Duo all day tomorrow? I promise he will be home in time for dinner, please?"

I blinked in surprise but saw no reason not to let him have Duo. "Sure you can keep him all day if you like just make absolutely certain you dont bring him back late"

I heard a growl and turned in shock to see Duo with his eyes blazing in anger, and he shouted at the both of us.

"Quit talking like I am not here! Heero, quit treating me like I am some... some.. toy! I am not an object for you to share or show off! Quatre, stop treating me like a science experiment! I am a living breathing creature, not some chemicals in a tube! I... I want to go home... I dont know where it is or what it entails but, it has to be better than here.."

As he started saying the word home his voice wavered and I could see tears building in his eyes. I could see the look of amazingly horrible guilt flutter over Quatre's features and I was not feeling too much better. In the beginning I had kept telling myself that treating him like a posession was wrong, so where along the way had I stopped telling myself that? Looking back over the last few weeks I kept showing him off, handing him off and forcing him to do everything I wanted as if he was a rag doll that had no feelings or was even alive. While Quatre and I had been distracted Duo had managed to dissappear. My eyes grew wide and I took off down the streets looking for him. As the sun was starting to get low I still had not found him, but knew I had to return home. The amount of relief I felt when I came into the entry way and saw him curled up in his fur was immense. He looked to be asleep and I snuck by into the house where my mother gave me a look that just screamed "I know what you did, and you better fix it." Sometimes I wondered if my mom was the only true friend that Duo had here.

Duo was still asleep when my father returned home and he slept right through dinner. All the time while he was sleeping I began to wonder how much sleep he had really been getting in that horrible entry way. It was freezing cold in there at night and for the last week storms had been rolling in at night and pounding against the house. My thoughts were interrupted by a large crash of thunder. Tonight was not going to be an exception and it looked to be quite the storm brewing. As my family ate in near silence I cleared my throat to gain their attention.

"Father, I think maybe, Duo should sleep in my room tonight... the storm is bad enough to collapse the entry way like it has done in the past and it could kill him if he is in there."

His expression did not change as his hasty reply came. "An enemy deserves no such accommodations."

I chewed my lip for a few moments, waiting patiently and calming myself before responding. The last thing I needed to do was make Odin feel like I was back talking him and getting his blood boiling.

"But I think, if he was an enemy he would have done something by now. He has had hundreds of perfect opportunities and has done nothing... please father?"

Before I could even finish a loud "No" resounded in the room. I tucked my ears and went back to pushing my food around my plate. But apparently that was not the end. I saw it coming before I even heard my mother's voice. Her body language spoke fathoms. The only person in the entire pack who had ever been able to tell my father what to do without fear was my mother, and she took advantage of that.

"Odin Yuy, if you don't let that poor pup inside tonight to sleep in Heero's bedroom then you can bet you wont be sleeping on our bed tonight, and I sure hope you don't think I will be making you breakfasts in the morning anymore either!"

You could see his lip lift in an annoyed snarl before he responded "Fine let the damn mutt sleep inside, but if he tries to pull anything, he will regret it."

I finished up my dinner as fast as I could and slunk into the entry way. Duo was on his side but his breathing said he was finally awake. I tested the waters with softly saying his name. When he didnt respond I pressed on.

"Duo.. the storm is really bad tonight, this entry way could collapse, you need to come sleep with me for the night. Wait, no... I mean... do you want to come stay with me for the night... it... it's your choice."

He rolled over to face me with wide blue eyes and nodded wordlessly slinking behind me as we left the entry way, his blanket being drug by his teeth. We crawled into the bed and he curled up into a ball in corner nearest the wall and for the first time I could remember in weeks, I saw him smile. He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh followed by an almost inaudible "Thank you, Heero". Before his eyes slipped closed. I was probably grinning like a maniac too, this feeling seemed so odd, but I had never felt happier or more proud of myself than when he had said thank you. I woke up later that night to something warm and fuzzy at my back. I looked over and saw that in the extreme night cold Duo had curled up against me and was fast asleep.

The next morning my dad woke me up to help him dig out the entrance hall, it had collapsed during the night. I left Duo in my bed to get some more sleep, and I felt so amazing, knowing I had made the right decision, on my own.


	5. Chapter 5

After we dug out the entry way I wandered off to the doctor's dwelling. Quatre was always there and since the doctor was there, Quatre was as well. I wandered to the dwelling, and saw a pale puff of fur sitting outside. It was obviously Quatre as he was the only wolf with hair that light in the entire pack, aside from Duo. I had questions to ask him, Duo had said some strange things the day before, and I wondered what it was that Quatre had really been doing with him.

"Mornin', Quatre, what are you doing out here?"

He looked so downcast, gazing at the ground, slumped over in posture. He looked up at me half heartedly.

"I guess, you are wondering what Duo was on about yesterday, then? I... it started out from pure curiosity. His hair was just so white, and his eyes such a strange color. At first I was taking pieces of hair to examine, and all sorts of silly little tests that the doc' taught me to do. But I guess I forgot somewhere along the way, that Duo is a living breathing being, just like us. I know it couldn't have been any fun for him to be poked and prodded and then ignored when I got what I wanted from him, especially day in and day out. I... I don't think I want to be a doctor anymore... I lose sight too easily of what is really important; this just proved that to me. It's been a while since I got here but I don't know how to tell doc.. I think it's more that I don't want it to end. Would you please apologize to Duo for me? I don't think he will want to talk to me for a while."

Before I could speak I heard a voice behind me.

"You're forgiven Quatre."

I shifted my head to see Duo standing a few feet from me. Quatre half smiled at the acknowledgement and took a deep breath before disappearing into the doctor's place. I turned around to face Duo entirely and he spoke up as if answering an unthought-of question.

"Your mom said to say breakfast is ready, and you need to come eat."

I nodded and followed him back to my... our home.

In the weeks following things changed a bit. Duo tentatively became friends with Quatre, and I had taken to asking Duo whether or not he wanted to do things, before I made him do them. He seemed to cheer up a lot, his personality came out in full blast. Everyone was drawn to him like a magnet, I think, even my dad was starting to like him. Although, Odin would never admit it, not even on his death bed. But you could see he would be more tolerant of Duo, and would sometimes even give off a small smile at some of his antics. My mother threatened to stop feeding Duo, he had become a ball of energy and was hard to control. He slept in my bed everynight, curled up between me and the wall, a warm ball of fur against my back. As my training got harder, Duo got better as well. I kept training and playing with him and he learned from me. I think, that worried my father though, so I didn't talk about it much. He still had that inkling at the back of his mind that Duo would suddenly turn on me, on all of us.

Everything was turning out much like I planned. Duo was my play buddy, my best friend, and confidant. I told him everything, most of the time. About how, somedays, I wasn't sure Odin really loved me, or how worried I was about proving myself one day, and fighting to become the new leader. It was a constant stress on me, to have to worry about living up to my father's reputation. But having Duo around, helped me to take it in stride, helped me to cope. I knew just about everyone was envious of all I had, but I couldn't help but be jealous of them, for having not a care in the world.

But thanks to Duo, I had also changed, he had taught me to come out of my shell more, be more playful. To have fun once in a while. To treat others like living beings, and not objects. I don't know what I would do without him....

It was along those lines I thought one night, as to where Duo really had come from. It was the anniversary of the day we found him, it had been a whole year since he came stumbling into our lives. We decided to make this day his birthday, and he had been so happy. But, he still didn't seem to remember anything else, but what happened if he did, what happened if he remembered who he was and wanted to go back? I wasn't sure I could take that. I stayed up half that night, wondering if continuing to become better and better friends with Duo was wise. Becoming attached to something so unstable was a major chink in my perfect armor, becoming attached to anyone was. My father liked to act like no one mattered to him, but I know my mother did. I know he would do anything for her, and sometimes I could see a look in his eyes, and wondered if it would be the same for me, should the situation arise. I turned around in my bed, and looked at Duo, curled up against the wall. Would I do the same for him? He wasn't like my mother, he could leave at any time, even turn on me at any time, though, I really didn't think he would, turn on me, that is.

I decided that night, that maybe it was time to set up some boundaries for my relationship with Duo. I had to draw the line somewhere, so that if he left, I could handle it, sort of. I rolled back over to my side, still unable to sleep for hours, my mind wandering back over the same thoughts over, and over, coming to the same conclusion everytime. It was really, my only option, wasn't it?

* * *

Okay I am going to try and get up another chapter asap for taking over.... a month to update... so sorry everyone! Finals hit like a ton of bricks as well as a ton of stuff with work and just life in general got in the way.


	6. Chapter 6

Things seemed to stay fairly mellow, at least, for a little while. I was being more cautious about how close I was getting to Duo. I am fairly certain no one else noticed me keeping him at a distance. I treated him the same as Quatre, Trowa, and all my other 'friends'. Before I had considered him my closest friend and confidant, now I was striving to make him nothing more than a friend. I did feel a stab of guilt every time I pushed him away. But he seemed to be handling it okay, or maybe it was just my mind trying to make me feel better about the whole thing.

When summer finally came, Duo shed out his white coat, into a dark chestnut colored coat. It was an odd sight for most of us. Our pack didn't rely on coat color for a specific camouflage and so we were a variety of colors. Other packs were a single color, and some, like Duo, would change colors with season. But, not many of us had witnessed this sort of change taking place. Summer faded to fall, and then winter rolled back around, and Duo turned white again, then he began to shed back to chestnut with the start of spring. We were all getting quite large; it was a tight squeeze in my bed at night with Duo in there. He was getting very tall, almost as tall as me, but he was also very lanky.

Everything seemed to be going fine, we were all older, and Duo still didn't remember anything. My dad had pretty much accepted him, well, as much as my dad would anyways. He tolerated Duo and didn't snap at him much anymore. My mom had told him to start calling her mom. Everything seemed perfect. Until... they came to town. We had alliances with other packs. The field clan had been one of those. They were led by a blonde colored wolf named Zechs. He was still a young leader, and he had a younger sister, Relena, who was close to me in age, but he did a good job, and his pack was greatly in need of his skills as a leader. We had been strongly tied to their last leader, and these were the tentative negotiations, to see if our alliance would continue under Zech's new leadership.

Their coats were darker than Quatre's and seemed to gleam in the sun. They almost looked like golden idols as they walked into the village. It was easy to see which one was Zechs, he was a substantially larger wolf, and his sister, Relena, stayed close to his side. The pack seemed to be congregating along the sideways, to stare at the newcomers. But a loud growl from my father dispersed them. The small group stopped a good distance away from my father, Zech's signaling for a few guards to follow him and one to stay with his sister.

They disappeared for a time, going off to discuss negotiations and alliances. Because Odin was so preoccupied I had time myself, a rarity. I saw Duo bounding over to me, energy radiating from him. "Hey 'Ro since your Dad is busy, you wanna come and play with me? Everyone else is busy and I am bored."

I half-grinned at his speech mannerisms. I would never be allowed to talk like that but Duo got away with it just fine. Without thinking much about it, I replied "No, but thanks anyways, I am going to do some training, the bounds have not been run this morning and I am going to take some other wolves with me."

He paused a moment before responding "Well okay then, can I come with you? Please? I promise to behave, no pranks, no running off, I promise."

Once again the words were out my mouth before I even thought about it "No, it's too dangerous and you can't fight."

His face seemed to fall for a brief second before it went back to it's usual cheerfulness "Oh, that's okay then I guess I will just go find something else to do."

I felt a little bad, but it was starting to become habit to push him away. I took Noventa and began the trek along the border. Normally it took about an hour or two of human time to run the borders, we were just checking to make sure there were no breeches of scent or others outside our own pack wandering around. We had covered a good portion of the trail when Noventa froze in place. I went on the alert "What is it?"

He stopped to sniff the air for a brief moment, and then let out a low growl "I smell something, stay here." It was not the standard for someone on border patrol to run off on their own when danger was scented. I stopped to sniff the air, and picked up nothing, it must have been in the passing breeze. I waited where I was, growing more nervous as it took longer and longer for Noventa to return. This part of the border was closest to the forest pack, and it was dangerous territory. Suddenly I was very glad I had not allowed Duo to come along. A crack of noise behind me made me spin. Noventa was coming back through some of the trees.

He looked uninjured and no worse for the wear and spoke up as soon as he saw me looking at him "I couldn't find anything, let's continue." The rest of the trip went without event, but upon our return we came upon a strange scene

What seemed like every bet and gamma youth in the pack was gathered at the center of the town, all laughing and talking in a semi circle. I approached the group with brows drawn together in confusion. As I wiggled my way into the group, it appeared that they had all gathered around one of the foreign visitors. To be more specific, it was Relena, her guard was a few feet away but still within distance enough to protect her. I don't know what it was but as soon as I got close I just seemed to be drawn to her. I was hanging on her every word, and lulled into a sense want and desire for her. Her eyes locked with mine and I thought my heart stopped. But the moment was interrupted.

"Hey, Heero how did the border check go?"

I had to break eye contact with Relena to answer Duo, and for some reason, it really angered me. I turned to see Duo approaching the group and snapped out in a harsh tone "Don't bug me now Duo." His eyes grew wide as saucers and he froze. I turned back to Relena and her gaze was still on me, her voice was soft as she spoke "So, you are Odin's son Heero, then?" I nodded, unable to speak. She started to look me over, as if sizing me up. I resisted the urge to puff up my body as she did it, and just remained still.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw my father emerge with Zech's from one of the public den's, it was the same one we had taken Duo into, the day I found him. His eyes shrunk into small angered slits when he saw the group of us gathered around Relena. He sniffed the air let out a loud deep growl that we all heard; everyone froze and grew nervous as he stalked over to us, Zech's on his tail, clearly confused. As he arrived at our group he turned and barked at Zech's. "What is this Milliardo? Are you trying to force an alliance by mating your sister to one of our pack, to my son!? Is that why you brought your sister here? "

Zech's looked genuinely surprised, and confused "I don't know what you are talking about. Relena insisted on coming despite our efforts to stop her she snuck along anyways. We couldn't turn back at that point, and had to bring her along. I don't think her mere presence is any threat to you. She was just talking."

My father lifted a brow and responded in a low tone. "Do you take me for an idiot; anyone within six feet can tell she is in a cycle. She is practically bathing everyone in pheromones."

Zechs turned to his sister, a look of anger on his face. "How could you do this Relena? You are putting our whole pack in jeopardy by pulling this stupid stunt!" He quickly turned back to my father, bowing low. "You will have to forgive this mistake Odin. Our pack has evolved different from yours. We all look very similar, so physical aspects are somewhat ruled out when selecting a mate. Pheromones took over, the stronger the pheromones the more desirable and individual is. So over the years the amount of pheromones a female in cycle emits has grown to large amounts. We have built up resistances to these as well, from being exposed to it so long. This is her first cycle and a comparatively weak one compared to others. I didn't even notice anything; I can barely tell it's there now."

Everyone knew both packs were desperate to re-establish our alliances. My father seemed to accept this excuse, to an extent. But that didn't stop his legendary short temper from fraying. "She will not stay in this village while you are here. Your guard will take her out into the open until negotiations are done."

Zechs didn't take well to my father's suggestion. "I will not send my sister out like a walking target, if anyone is going to leave it must be your own who cannot control themselves! I am not happy with what she has done, but I will not put her in danger."

I felt a huge surge of anger in me, how dare he assume I couldn't control myself. But before I could speak my father rose to defend us. "She came into our pack as such, and deserves her just rewards. It is not reasonable for me to send members of my own pack, youths no less, who are not used to such a high concentration of pheromones, out into the open."

The fight was making Zech's grow bolder by the minute. "If you want any alliance talks to take place my sister will remain in this village, untouched, and your youths will be the ones sent into the open."

He was playing his trump card and he knew it, I saw the rage building in my fathers form, until it suddenly relaxed; his posture taking on a smug position. "I will only accept these terms if your sister is to remain in the care of my guards and not your own. She will be kept as such until we have settled our talks and the youths of this pack have returned safe, and unharmed. If YOU want any alliance to take place you will agree to these conditions. Should any damage be done to my own pack, the backlash for this will be taken out on her."

I could see Relena's eyes grow wide in fear and I felt like stepping in, I had to protect her. She was my every desire; I would not allow this to happen to her. I froze along that train of thought, perhaps Zech's was right, and I really could not control myself.

A look of fear mirrored in Zech's eyes. "You are to take my sister hostage then? I cannot accept that..." He turned and looked at his sister, still very irate looking, before he let out a long, sad sigh, and muttered "Stupid, foolish, girl" under his breath. "However, in exchange, I will allow myself to take her place. My guards, all of them, will take charge over Relena's care and your own guards will watch mine. Any punishment that is to be suffered, I will endure it."

The golden colored guards gasped and moved forward as if to protest their leader's actions, but a look from him silenced them. My father's toothy grin grew large "Very well then, I accept." He turned a keen eye to the rest of us "All of you gather anything you think a necessity, you will be staying in the woods until negotiations are done. I will send Noventa to retrieve you; Lowe and Snyder will go along with you. You have all had some sort of defense or attack training; I think you will be fine. We will attempt to make negotiations as short as possible, to lessen the danger."

It was obvious, my father was willing to risk us all for the upper hand here, and we just had to accept that. I looked around at the looks of mixed excitement and fear on everyone's face. We didn't know how this would turn out, but we had no choice. I turned to head towards our dwelling, and heard my father call Duo's name. Duo halted and turned to him in surprised, but went over to him nonetheless. I continued on as they talked in hushed tones.

I was lost in my own thoughts, my own anger. Now that I was away from Relena, everything seemed clear. I felt so weak for my actions, for being so easily controlled by her. I began moving around my room, trying to calm myself and thinking of things to gather. I pulled out a sack and started to throw small spare furs into it, heading into the kitchen and grabbing some food that would hold. I had been slamming things, I was angry. It distracted me so much I didn't even hear anyone enter our dwelling.

"He...Heero? Is that you?"

I turned to see Duo standing there, much shorter than I had ever remembered him being. In fact everything was shorter than I remembered it being. I looked down and noticed, I had hands, and arms. I was standing on two feet. My strong emotions had made me loose control of my temper and my control over my own body and it transformed into its half-form. It was not uncommon for wolves my age to begin transforming like this. I just stared at my hand as I flexed it "Interesting". I muttered. I turned back to Duo and knew he had already figured it out and I need not reply.

He seemed tense, and nervous, I could see his entire throat moved as he swallowed. Was he afraid of me? Before the train of thought could continue, he spoke in a shaky voice. "Your father said I must stay... He doesn't think I am strong enough to defend myself, and would just be a danger to everyone else." I could feel my heart leap and calm almost at the same time, after hearing his words. I didn't want to leave Duo here, and have to go without him. But he would be safe here; there was more protection in the village than out in the lands.

I finished packing things in silence. With my new found ability to change, I could carry more, and handle taking and using more things. I was tying off the satchel when Duo spoke again. "Heero, I... I have something to show you. I am not sure how else to do this, but I can't keep it a secret."

I turned to him to ask what he meant, but what met my gaze was not what I expected. It looked like a human, with long chestnut hair, matching the color of Duo's coat, and sparkling deep violet eyes, just like Duo's. His skin looked like tan alabaster, flawless and smooth. I couldn't speak for few minutes, and when I finally found my voice all I could say was "How?"

He rubbed his arm nervously, replying in a very shaky and subdued voice "I don't know, it just happened one night, I woke up early in the morning before you were awake and I looked like this. I freaked, but after an hour or so of trying I managed to change back. It's been happening randomly for the last few months, I can't always control when I change, but I can change back and forth easily now, and it's becoming less frequent that I change without intending too. I don't know what's going on Heero; I don't even know what I am. Please don't tell the others.. I just couldn't keep it to myself anymore; it was driving me mad with guilt that I hid it from you."

I nodded numbly, in shock from the situation. I don't know how much time passed before I shook myself from my stillness. "I don't have time for this right now, I have to go before Odin comes to get me." I walked passed Duo to the door, still in my half form, not knowing how to change back.

His voice caught me as my hand was on the door "Heero, wait!" I looked back to him, waiting a few moments for him to speak. He seemed to be struggling, and finally his shoulders slumped in defeat and it was clear he wasn't going to be saying anything else. I opened the door and walked halfway out before speaking loudly to him "You better change back before anyone else sees you." Then I shut the door and headed to the main center of town, where I could see the other beta and gamma youths congregating. The deltas served no danger to Relena, since Relena was a delta as well. Only betas and gammas would be able to take her as a mate.

I got odd looks as I joined the group in my half form. I resisted the urge to hang my head in embarrassment. My father saw me and approached. "Since you have discovered how to change, I want you to spend most of your time out there learning how to change easily back and forth. By the time you return I expect you to be capable of changing like any of the adults here."

I nodded silently, having already decided to do this long before he came over. It just added extra pressure knowing he expected such a high level of me. I knew a few of the other betas and a gamma could change, I could probably ask for their help, along with Lowe and Snyder.

I saw the last of the group joining up with us, and with a firm nod Snyder bellowed "Let's head out. Everyone stay together, and no wandering off! We do not stop until I say so. Lowe will be bringing up the rear and he will be making sure nothing comes up from behind." I took one look back at my dwelling, not knowing what Duo was doing inside, and whispered a near silent "Goodbye."

Okay I am SO sorry it took this long. I just kept running into bumps with this chapter. I know what events I want to happen and how I want this to play out. But now it's connecting the little things and making sure everything flows and does not contradict. I had to scratch some plans and make new ones just to make this story work out properly. So I had to rewrite scenes in this chapter a few times so everything was right. I think I have the next 4-5 chapters already figured out and running smoothly in my head. That's also why this one took so long I had to change things to not mess up future chapters. I hope making this chapter extra long will help make up for all the time everyone had to wait.


	7. Chapter 7

Okay so I hope this one is up in a timelier manner for everyone. I want to clarify the last chapter since someone asked some good questions. Heero changed into half-form which is an anthro form (google anthro if you don't know what it is). Duo changed into a full human form which no other member of his species has done before, which is why it was so shocking. Hope that cleared things up for everyone! If not just leave me more questions.

Everyone PLEASE note that this chapter is **DUO'S POV** not Heero's and will be backtracking a bit before moving on.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~DUO'S POV!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

I can't say I know exactly when it started. It seemed so insignificant when I started to notice it. Heero had been pushing me away, keeping me at a distance. I wanted to just ask what was wrong but I was too much of a coward to do so. I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong, why was he mad at me? At first I just wrote it off as him having a bad day, which grew into a bad week, then a bad month. It took a long time for me to accept that something was really wrong and that it was my fault. I just wish I could figure out what...

Things weren't completely horrible at least... well, not until she came. We had settled into a semi decent arms length friendship. It wasn't like he was being outright cruel to me; it was just kind of subtle, and unexpected. I tried everything to make it up to him, to figure it out and try and fix it. But nothing seemed to be working. I was reaching the end of my patience when she came. I was about to the point where I was going to break down and ask him what was wrong; even if it meant the possible end of our friendship. I just couldn't take it anymore. Plus I was overwhelmed with guilt, hiding my secret from Heero. I had started changing into a human like form a while back. But felt since things were so shaky between us I decided I would wait to tell him until things settled down.

The morning she came was very eventful. Everyone wanted to see the other wolves, myself included. I caught a glimpse of them and that seemed to satisfy my curiosity. I had resolved to talk to Heero about it that day. I saw him on his own after the visitors split up. I ran over to him, planning to get the talk done and over with before I chickened out. I made up a quick excuse about everyone being busy, and they mostly were, everyone was more interested in the visitors. I asked him to play with me, mostly because it would get us alone where I would feel braver without all those prying eyes. He turned it down, saying he had to run the borders. I was always upset when he turned something down but perhaps he really did need to run the borders, so I came up with a quick response, asking if I could come along. He shot me down quickly and without much thought, which really hurt. I know my face fell for a second but I was quick to cover it up. I still had the rest of the day, so I made an excuse about finding something else to do and wandered off.

He was gone for a long time; it made me jumpy, thinking something had happened to him. I noticed everyone gathering in a large crowd around Relena. There was just something not right about her. I had walked close by her earlier and she had this very strange smell, it made me confused and jumpy. So I did my best to avoid her. I was trying to keep to myself to think out what to say to Heero, and to keep my resolve from slipping. On one of my walks around the village I noticed Noventa was back, running back to his den. Which meant Heero was probably back as well.

I headed to the center of the village and spotted his unmistakable brown form in the crowd surrounding Relena. I took a deep breath and headed for him. I was desperate to talk to him at this point. I called out to him when I approached the pack and he turned angry eyes on me and snapped cruelly. I was shocked; I couldn't even move or think. What had I done now? I had obviously just made everything worse. Before anything else could take place, Odin came storming over. I only caught half of the conversation and what had happened. I just got enough to know that we were being sent away.

As he dispersed us I went to follow Heero, this could work out, if we were away from the village and stuck together maybe everything would come out. But, I heard Odin calling me back and stopped, turning reluctantly to go to him. I felt like arguing when he said I was staying, but knew better than to fight with Odin, instead I just accepted it. I ran as quickly as I could to the dwelling I only had the time until Heero left to try and sort this out.

I burst into our dwelling; only coming up short when I noticed there was a half-form in the house slamming things around. It smelled like Heero, but it was also clearly, very mad. I finally gathered the courage to speak, sounding like a weak pup scared of being sent to their room without dinner. He froze, not seeming to know he had changed, his only reply being 'interesting'.

I told him about what his father had said he only seemed to pause for a second before continuing. He wasn't talking and it was making me nervous. I knew time was drawing short, and I had to do something. I spoke up; I didn't want to tell him about my human form before asking what was wrong. But I was so nervous it was all I could force out of my mouth. I changed into the form, watching a mixture of shock and confusion on his face. He could only answer with a single question. I did my best to answer, waiting for something more, something better.

He seemed to process it, before saying the words that shattered all my courage. He said he didn't have time for it right now and had to leave. Despite the blow to my resolve I still tried one more time to stop him before he left. I asked him to wait; I wanted to ask 'What did I do? How do I fix this? Why do you hate me?' But the words all stuck in my throat, and he just left. I felt self loathing raging in me for a few moments before it left, leaving me broken and weak. I let out a few tearless sobs, shaking with emotions. But, he was right I needed to change back, before someone saw me. I did my best to calm myself and change back. It took a while but as soon as I did I opened the door to try and catch them before they left, but to no avail, they had already left/

I spent the day just standing around in Heero's room. Trying to piece everything together and figure out how to fix things. I played what he said today over and over again in my mind. When it suddenly struck me, he thought I was weak. He was disgusted at how weak I was. I couldn't even do a border check because I was so weak. I didn't do anything, or really aspire to become anything. I was useless. I resolved then to become stronger, to be useful. I wouldn't be a weak burden.

I strode out of the dwelling, determined to fix things, when I heard Odin's voice nearby. He appeared to be talking to the other leader... Zechs, I think was his name. I listened in, feeling a bit bad but it was hard not too.

' "Odin, you promised to send all of the unpaired betas and gammas out, I know one is still in your dwelling, why hasn't he left"

"Do not worry Zechs the boy is just insurance to make sure your sister does not go traipsing around spreading pheromones everywhere. If she is going to try and seduce one of my pack then she will get what she deserves. Don't worry about her safety, the boy is of no threat, she could probably fight him off on her own. It's just to make sure she behaves"'

I quietly slunk away as fast as I could. I was hurting, but it just confirmed what I already had figured out, everyone thought I was a weak and useless burden. I had to change it, somehow. I would be sure to keep my distance from Relena, I had no interest in her to begin with but I didn't want their opinions of me lowered even farther. It definitely hurt to know that Odin hadn't been sincere in his care for my safety, but I should have known.

Starting now things would be different, I would do the best I could to change everything. I would make Heero proud of me, I would show him I had changed, and we could go back to being friends again. I didn't know exactly how I was going to do it, but I would.

I spent my days running around within the village. I was allowed to skirt the borders of the village as well and there was a river just within them so I frequented the river; swimming in it as much as I could, hot or cold. Every night I practically collapsed into my bed from exhaustion, but it would all be worth it. Heero's mother noticed, and kept asking me questions. I did my best to avoid them, but eventually broke down and told her everything. Well, almost everything, I didn't tell her what I heard Odin say about me.

She looked shocked, and quite upset at what I was saying. She promised to talk to Heero and Odin once Heero was back and Odin was not so busy. I was a bit upset when she said that, they didn't need to know I knew. I just wanted to fix things myself. The last thing I wanted to do was send mom after them and make them even more angry with me. I managed to talk her out of it, well, she said she would let me handle it, but I knew she was going to talk to them anyways. I just had to make sure I was good enough by then. That struck a horrible thought in my head, what would happen if they kicked me out? I had nowhere to go. I didn't even know who I was before I came here. Every now and then I would dream about something, but it was always fuzzy and faded, I couldn't tell if it was a dream or memory.

Time kept slipping by; the negotiations seemed to take forever. I would pass Relena every now and then on the streets, she would give me a large berth and looked at me with wide eyes. I could understand her fears, to an extent. But it had been a long time since she showed up and I wasn't even showing the littlest inkling of interest in her, and she was almost completely through her cycle, it was just a bit overboard of her.

At one point it seemed like every day was the same, and Heero would never come back. Get up, run the boundaries, go swimming, find things to do around town to help, go home and sleep. I had even picked up helping at the medical clinic, I figured I had to have some sort of work to do when I was fully grown. So I just dawdled here and there in the jobs around town. I had transformed into my half form once or twice. I wasn't sure whether to be comforted or frightened by it. I was obviously similar to Heero and his pack, but that full human form still disturbed me. In my half form I had my winter white coat, and a half mane sprouting from my neck. It was a little different from the others half-forms, which is what worried me. I kept both of my forms hidden from everyone, worried what would happen if they found out.

The dull day-to-day finally ended. I was swimming in the river, when a few unknown wolves came down to it to drink. They were jet black in color, with varying eye colors of golden to black. I stayed absolutely still hoping they didn't notice me, but one looked directly at me, and I knew they did. One of them finally spoke up.

"What are you doing?"

The tense moment seemed to dissipate slightly and my form sagged a bit. "What does it look like I am doing, I am swimming."

A brow lifted as he looked at me. "Is it typical for members of your pack to swim then, to allow yourselves to be exposed in the open like this?"

I bristled a little at the exposure comment, but tried to keep my offense on the matter from my tone. "Well, I couldn't say for sure, but it's not uncommon for us to swim."

He snorted and looked to his companions, nodding his head as if in silent agreement. "You wouldn't happen to be a member of Odin's pack would you?" He seemed to tense up after asking the question, knowing how loaded it was.

I froze, unsure how to respond, if this was an enemy and I gave myself away, this could wind up very badly. I could be taken, or even killed. But, before I knew it my head was slowly nodding. I felt like throwing myself under the water and drowning for all my stupidity. But luckily for me it seemed I was in no actual danger.

He released the tension in his form and gave a small chuckle "Well then, I am Wufei Chang, of the den clan. I recently took over and Odin sent for me to negotiate alliances. I take it since we have found a member of his clan that we are in his land and close. We are not used to navigating large open spaces and got a bit... lost in the field clan territory, and a bit frustrated as it appears their new leader has been missing for quite some time. They are full of tension and worry, and I think things could turn ugly if he does not soon return."

I nodded dumbly at his speech. He grinned at my actions before padding back up to the path with his companions.

"Well then I will waste no more of your time, I assume this path will lead us to the village."

I didn't respond one way or the other, just sat there staring for a while after he left. Had I just messed something up? What if those were enemy clan members? I just let them waltz right by me, heck I practically gave them directions. I was scared to go into town, for fear of what Odin would say if he found out. But as the sun started to dwindle over the mountains I knew I had to return for the night.

Everything seemed just fine when I finally got to the village, perhaps I had overreacted. Either way I had no intention of letting anyone know about my encounter with Wufei, unless, he told them first. I felt like I had made a mistake, and didn't want Odin knowing, the last thing I wanted to do was screw up right in front of him... I couldn't stop Wufei from telling him, heck the wolf was probably bursting out laughing telling Odin about our encounter.

I spent the whole night lying awake in my bed, hoping that Odin wouldn't find out, and imagining the horrible things that were awaiting me if he did. The sun rose and I had not even gotten a moments rest. I stumbled blearily from our dwelling. Trying to wake up my muddled brain, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do. I finally wandered down to the river, and lay down on the banks, promising myself just to take a quick power nap. A deep chuckle roused me from my deep sleep. It felt like my eyelids weighed a ton, but I pulled my eyes open to look at the source of the voice. All I could see was a jet black form blurred with the rest of the scenery. I blinked a few times to clear my vision, looking at one of the wolves who had come yesterday.

They were all black and about the same looking, it was hard to tell which wolf this was, but his tone when he spoke made me suspect it was Wufei.

"Do you live here or something? Were you planning on starting a river clan of some sort?"

I couldn't tell if he was laughing at me, or just trying to joke with me. I shrugged nonchalantly and gave back a calm and tired reply. "Why aren't you having negotiations with Odin?"

A grin spread over his muzzle, as he stalked closer. "He is still tied up with Zech's. If his negotiations with me are going to take this long I may just concede to whatever he wants now and go home. But until my turn comes, I decided I would try this... swimming, you were doing yesterday. My clan remains in dens for the most part, hunting the animals that try and take cover in them. We have springs in our caves, and small brooks that run through them, but nothing enough to swim in."

He waded into the shallows, distracted by the water rising up to his chest. He looked back to me with an expectant look, which I returned with a questioning one. He gave me an amused smile before saying anything. "Well are you going to teach me to swim or not? I would also like a name since I already gave you mine."

I blinked, dumb-founded. I guess I should have thought of that, I had to be taught to swim by Heero. It was only natural that someone who had not been near this much water before would need help. I nodded absently and waded into the depths with him; mumbling my name. Teaching Wufei to swim was probably the best fun I had experienced in a long time. It started out tense but when he made a joking comment I splashed him with my tail and then froze, realizing what I had just done. He had a shocked look on his face; no one had probably ever challenged him or insulted him like that before. Before the apology could fall from my lips he had splashed me back. The tension seemed to ease from there.

We spent close to a week swimming and running around together. I even forgot about my troubles for a little while. On the last day he told me that Zechs was to return to his pack the next day, and his negotiations would begin. "It was... an honor to have met you, Duo. I will not be able to spend my time here tomorrow, as I will be in negotiations with Odin. Thank you, for all you have done."

I grinned and shrugged my shoulder "No problems Wuffles, that's what friends are for." The nickname earned me a splash, but, I could hear him laughing still.

Just like Wufei said, Zech's left the next day, heading back to his clan. I was back to my old routine, and the loneliness was excruciating. But I renewed my plans in my head, Zechs had left, Heero would be returning soon. At first the pact was that all the wolves would return and then Zech's would leave. But he had been away from his pack so long that it was dire he returned immediately. As part of their agreement Zech's promised to return to suffer any punishments that may be due if our pack members were injured. His word seemed to be good enough for Odin, and I couldn't bring myself to care about the whole situation, aside from Heero's return.

Noventa and a few other wolves had been sent to retrieve the pack. But time passed by and they still had not returned. Winter was edging in on us; I had begun to shed my chestnut coat into my winter white. Heero still had not returned when my coat was fully grown in. I could tell the entire pack was on edge over it. What was taking so long?

Odin hurried negotiations with Wufei, they only seemed to last a few more days and then he was scheduled to leave. I got to see him one last time before his departure; his black coat had grown into a thick and long winter coat, it was slick and looked silky and shiny. His eyes widened at the site of me, I can only imagine it was because of the drastic change from chestnut to white.

He smiled and came over, humor in his voice. "Well you certainly wasted no time in disguising yourself to hide from me."

I gave a short laugh. "Well, Wuffles, desperate times call for desperate measures."

He nodded and gave a small bow. "It was a pleasure to have met you, Duo. May our paths cross again soon."

I returned the bow, feeling awkward that a pack leader had shown me so much respect. "It was an honor to meet you as well, Wufei, and I hope that they may."

I felt sadness at his departure, he had been a good friend, but at the same time I was eager for them to leave. Odin was going to go out looking for the others himself, everyone was deeply worried.

Odin left the next day, and all we could do from there was wait, and worry. He had taken a few guards with him, worried that something had happened to Noventa, or the youths, worst case scenario, all of them. We all went to bed that night, wondering what the morning would bring.

I awoke to the sounds of howls and shouting, in the dark hours of the night. Mom was out rising from her bed at the noise. I ran to the door, looking out to and seeing nothing. I turned back to mom, who looked ready to head out. "Stay here, and keep quiet, I am going to see what is going on. Keep the door locked and don't open it unless it's me, ask for a password, the answer is Heero."

I left the dwelling, shutting the door firmly behind me, running blindly into the dark town. That's when I saw it, brown wolves, and dozens of them. They were attacking the village, there was fights taking place all around. I dove headfirst into the squall, only able to assume that this was the forest pack.

We were overwhelmed in numbers though, I saw pack members losing their battles left and right, and even though I was holding up well, I knew that once more than one tried to challenge me at a time; I would be in the same boat. A shattering scream broke my concentration. It came from home. I quickly turned tail and fled in that direction, my heart pounding in fear of what I would find. I was right to be afraid...

Mom was on the ground, practically unmoving, being mauled by a forest wolf. I heard myself let out a vicious growl and slammed into the wolf, sending us both tumbling away from mom. I was distracted, worried about leaving mom vulnerable, it cost me more than once. I could feel my flesh tearing under his teeth on my legs and back, I don't know how long I wrestled with the wolf before he finally stopped moving. I turned back to mom and the sight made my heart stop. She appeared to be talking, but hovering over her was Heero and Odin. I could see the forest wolves retreating, everyone trying to pick up the pieces of the fight. Mom suddenly stopped talking and went completely, and deathly, still.

I could feel my whole body clench in denial as I bolted over to her side, half-sobbing "No, no, no, no, Mom open your eyes. Talk, come on you're just fine." But I already knew deep down that she wasn't. I felt something slam me into the ground, but my mind was such a mess that it took me a few moments to realize that I was being attacked, by Heero and that he was shouting something at me. I looked at him, my mind glazed. I felt him biting my neck and my air slowly closing up. I felt the blood trickling out of my wounds from the fight with the forest wolf, and new blood welling in the marks Heero was giving me. I couldn't bring myself to even respond or fight back. Then just like that it all stopped. Heero was pulled away from me and I dazedly stumbled to my feet. My brain slowly started processing what they were saying.

"How could you Duo!? How could you betray us like that? We did everything for you, you worthless cur! We trusted you, and you were just using us the whole time. What kind of sick, demented creature are you to have done this!"

If I could have died of shock I probably would have. I couldn't believe this was happening. I saw Odin closing in on me and did the only thing I could think of... I ran....

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DUN DUN DUN, I know, evil me and a cliffhanger like that. But don't worry I promise to get the next chapter up very quickly


	8. Chapter 8

How is this for a treat? I got two chapters done so fast. I feel so proud of myself; now let's just hope this pace keeps up. I am going to be doing Duo's POV for a few chapters, then switching back to Heero and will keep it as Heero for a while. I might go back to Duo much later on, maybe not at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~DUO'S POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I kept running long past the point that I felt any pain from my wounds or the burn in my muscles. My lungs had stopped protesting, I felt nothing, only the pain in my mind, and heart. My body collapsed on me though, I was heaving deep breaths of air against my will, collapsed against a large tree somewhere in the jungle. The forest was on the opposite side of town from our... Odin's dwelling. It was closer to the river that separated the field clan from us. I just kept running, even when I didn't hear anyone following me. The jungle was to the South east of the river, and the field clan was too the south west. I had run along the borders of the field clan to get here. No wolf packs were known to reside deep in the heart of the jungle, it was considered too dangerous. It was the safest place I could think to go.

I don't know how long I lay there, panting, until the darkness crept up and took me hostage. But when I awoke, I heard a voice calling my name. I kept absolutely still, it sounded like Noventa. Had he been sent to finish me off? I concentrated on what he was saying.

"Duo, please, if you are here come out. I know you didn't do it, we found the person who did. Please, I promise I will not harm you. Odin's mate is completely distressed at your disappearance. She is a little banged up but fine. She told us everything; she wants you to come back."

Was he lying? It was so hard to tell. I wanted, with every fiber of my being, to believe he was telling the truth. Hadn't mom died? I didn't actually know she was dead, I had just assumed. What if it was a trick and Noventa just wanted to lure me out to kill me? It didn't seem like a tactic anyone of Odin's pack would use... but they could be very desperate to find me.

I just lay there for a short while contemplating my options. Noventa's voice was growing stronger and then weaker, as he moved around the area. What were my options if he was lying and I didn't come out? I would probably die out here, or he could find me and kill me. If I turned myself in and he was lying I would also die. But if I turned myself in, maybe they would make it quick, and maybe I would get to say goodbye to Heero, even if he didn't believe me.

I finally found enough strength to stand up and give out a small, quiet bark. Noventa was on me like a hawk. "Oh thank goodness, Duo, I was worried we would never find you or that you were dead... You look horrible, you need medical attention; follow me I will take you back to the village as fast as I can."

All seemed to be going well, he kept quiet for the most part, and so did I. He finally spoke, after giving me a few side glances "There is a wall coming up, you might want to change into your half form for us to get over, it's much faster than going around."

I nodded and felt the transition wash over me. I was left stumbling and felt Noventa clasp onto my arm to steady me. That was when I realized, Noventa didn't know I had a half-form. I managed to speak, trying to keep the fear from my voice. "H-how did you know, I had a half form? No one knows."

He gave a creepy chuckle. "Don't worry Duo, I saw you change on accident before, I knew about it. I can only assume you were afraid because of the longer hair along your head and neck. But by now you should have realized that all packs are different, and have different characteristics and features. Your hair could be normal for whatever pack you came from. In fact letting the others see it might have helped to show that you were not a member of the forest pack, as they don't have those features."

I accepted his response, too tired to try and contemplate things any further. We approached the borders of the land as night fell. I didn't know how long I slept in the jungle; I didn't know how many days, if any, I had been gone. I was very disoriented, and tired, which is probably why I didn't notice that we were walking along the border for a long time, instead of going into the village. I started to notice it when we came into the beginning of the forest, which was on the opposite side of town. I crunched my features together in confusion and turned to Noventa.

He got a smug smile and spoke in low tones. "Oh come now, I can't believe how easily you bought my little speech back there in the jungle. Do you honestly think that Odin's wife survived that? It's laughable, and that the pack was just going to let you back like that? Truly this is very amusing."

I could feel him grab my arms and hold me in place. I was too exhausted to fight back. But I imagine the look on my face resonated sheer terror. But none of it made sense, the stuff he said back there, in the jungle, how would he have known to say those things. Unless, he knew I wasn't the traitor... he knew who it was. I looked him straight in the eye and saw the gleam of victory, it was him, and he was the one who betrayed us. I felt myself struggle weakly against him as he laughed.

"Figured it out have you little pup? Well you are smarter than the others of the pack, but not smart enough I am afraid."

I felt something slam into the base of my head and everything just ended for a while. I woke a few times to see myself being carried in a tunnel of some sort. But I couldn't hold onto wakefulness for more than a few moments. The next time I could stay awake for more than a second, I was in a dwelling. It was chilly, well my arms were anyways. But my head felt on fire. I groaned and clutched at my head, then felt a hand on my chin forcing me to look in the direction of a blurry face.

"Well hello there my pretty, decided to finally wake did you? Welcome to your home for the next few weeks. I obviously can't have you spoiling my plans, so when Odin said you had to be retrieved I got you myself. I snuck you in through my secret tunnel, the same one I use to get back and forth to the forest packs borders without anyone realizing. It leads to this secret room in my dwelling. Very few come to my place anyway, so it's not likely you will be found. I think I will keep up the rouse of not being able to find you for a little while. Then if they get suspicious I will bring back the bones of one of the dead wolves from the battle and say it was you. Not that they will care, they still think you did this."

It was Noventa's voice, and it took me a few moments to process all that he was saying through the thick layer of fuzz in my mind. I licked my dry lips, wanting something to quench my thirst. But I had no reprieve.

"I know you are unwell my pet, but there is unfortunately nothing I can do without giving myself away. At first I had planned to make Odin's wife my mate over his dying body. But since the forest pack seems incapable of following orders I will do the next best thing. I know you think he does not care for you, but he does. Not as much as his own wife, or son, but more than the rest of us. Not to mention it would crush his son if I were to take you as my own, while he rots away as a slave under me."

I felt his hand rest upon my chest, and then it began to run down my side. I whimpered and tried to shy away from the touch; regretting ever changing into my half form.

"I will try and hurry things along as best I can, to try and ensure your survival. But I will not compromise in my wants to make sure you live. Remember that pretty."

The next time I woke I was slightly more coherent. I was tied to a wall, laying on a soft pad, with a small fur over my over heated body. It was thin and did little to keep the chill of winter at bay. My wounds burned with fire and throbbed, my head felt like it was being squeezed in an inferno. I could see Noventa across the room, working on something. I really needed a drink, I groaned, hoping to get his attention. If he wanted to keep me alive, maybe I could get him to allow me some water.

He looked up and then came over. "Welcome back pet, you seem to have a high fever, and you are burning up, so no blankets for you aside from this, it will keep your wounds covered and safe from infection."

I felt like smacking the guy, was he insane? He obviously knew nothing about medical knowledge, but I barely had the strength to lift my arm, much less say all of that. I managed to grumble 'Water' a couple times before he caught on. The liquid felt like pure bliss going down my throat. I nearly choked on it because I was gulping it down so fast.

I lay there for a few moments, thoughts running over and over in my head. I wanted to ask him so many questions, I wanted to shout at him, I wanted to kill him. But the best I could manage was a scratchy "Why?"

I could see his eyes light up, he enjoyed bragging and this was his opportunity to gloat for an audience.

"Why, you say, because Odin is a fool. You don't allow your rivals to survive. You kill them, for exactly this reason. He let us live and made us do what? Take an oath? How are a few words going to stop me from killing him while his back is turned? The man is truly stupid. Strong, but stupid, and soon he will be neither, as he will be dead, and everything he worked so hard to create, will be mine."

I couldn't picture him as a leader, a person with no honor or compassion would only lead to the death and destruction of our... Odin's entire clan. I no longer considered myself part of it, I knew I wasn't welcome. I was kicked out, a loner. I didn't want to be a part of Noventa's pack. I would rather be alone.

It took me a few minutes to realize that Noventa was still talking. He was revealing everything to me. I had missed a lot of the beginning, but I listened to the rest anyways, in case I could use it to my advantage.

"From there it wasn't hard for me to build this tunnel, with the help of the forest pack it was done in a few days. They also dug out this wonderful room for me to hide everything in. Odin of course has just kept me close as ever; I was his most 'loyal' soldier, so to speak. He never saw my sneers of disgust or the hatred in my eyes as I watched him.

When Zechs came along and that deal to send the youths out went down, I knew it was my time to strike. I made many trips to the forest clan, using this tunnel. With the youths gone the pack was already weakened. When Odin sent me out with the guards to fetch them, I... disposed of the guards. It was too easy. I pretended to hear something and had one of them come along with me, leaving him vulnerable. Then the other just sat there waiting, while I got him from behind. I buried the bodies, and then went through my tunnel back into my home. I was waiting for the next troop to be sent. I didn't expect Odin to go in the next group, perhaps it's because he was foolish, or maybe because his son was in the pack, either way, that was the perfect time to strike. I informed the forest pack of everything and we struck after nightfall. When Odin and Heero returned early I pretended to have been attacked by them, stumbling back into the village. The idiots bought it, not even looking twice since I had a few wounds from fighting the guards."

The pack is weak now, some are dead, others injured. The forest pack is gaining in strength, and once the moonless night appears, we will strike. I will kill Odin in his dwelling, pretending to come and fetch him, and the forest pack will do the rest of my work for me..."

I faded out after that, I could hear his voice droning on about his plans, but I didn't want to hear those parts, and I was tired. I gave into sleep.

The next time I woke fully coherent it was because of my fever. I know Noventa had fed me every now and then and given me something to drink. I know he had drug me to the bathroom at least once. I felt like I was being baked alive my fur was rubbing against me every movement felt like someone scraping me. I finally gave in and changed into my human form, hoping to cool down some. I didn't care if Noventa saw me like this, if he won he would probably find out, if not, no one else would know. Heck no one else probably knew I was here. If Noventa lost I would probably just die here, from this fever, or dehydration.

I heard the door open and saw Noventa come in with a large tray of food and a pitcher of water. He set them by the pad I was laying on.

"Everything will go through tomorrow night, this food should last you a few days, as well as the water. I don't know how long I will be so you will need to care for yourself during that time."

He didn't seem at all shocked to see my human form and I couldn't help but wonder why. I felt his cool hand run along my ribs and shivered. He was in his half-form. At my reaction he let out a chuckle.

"I was wondering when you would use this form. I saw you change into it once before, on accident, when you were learning to control your transformations. I was shocked at your beauty, and amazed at this gift. I began wondering if I could do the same, and after some practice, I could."

I felt his grin against my neck and felt him shift. I looked up into his eyes, they were blue, his skin slightly tan and his hair white as snow. He chuckled at the look of shock in my face. I wasn't the only one who could change into a human looking form.

"You discovered something that's probably been long lost to our species pet, this makes you quite special. It makes you an even better trophy for me..."

I could see him hesitate, battling something.

"I was going to wait until after killing Odin before taking this farther, but seeing you now like this, I can't wait."

I felt him press his mouth over mine, his tongue snaking into my mouth while his hands ran all over my body. I whimpered and tried to push him away; finally trying to bite his tongue. He reeled back, slapping me with the back of his hand. I saw stars for a few seconds before I heard the banging on the door, and heard Odin's voice. I knew it wasn't the door to this room, but the dwelling in general. I could feel Noventa tense up over me, anger radiating off him.

"Curse that Odin, always ruining everything. He will be done in a few days then I can give up this façade."

I felt him rise off the pad and move away from me, winking back at me.

"Take care my pet, I will be right back."

But he wasn't in fact he didn't come back at all. I heard shouting and fighting, something was happening. Then it was all quiet. I was thankful to Noventa for one thing, the food and water were lasting me. It had been three days since Noventa left the dwelling, and the food was almost gone. I had been careful about rationing the water, but my fever had been all over the place. I woke up burning last night, at least I think it was night. I still had no clue how time was moving. I tried to get a drink but my hand was shaking horribly and I dropped the pitcher. I think I may have cried a little. I woke up this morning, feeling the worst I had thus far. I couldn't even get my throat to make a groan of pain. I knew this was probably my last day. The day drug on, me spinning in and out of consciousness. I would give anything for a drink of water. I started hallucinating as well, hearing voices and slamming in the dwelling, but I knew no one was there. I heard one final loud crash and was drug into the darkness with it, even as a tendril of light filtered in from the door to try and grab me.

I woke up to a voice prodding me, I figured it to be another hallucination. A voice kept telling me to transform, a desperate tone to the voice. I just groaned and tried to go back to the blissfull nothingness. But it kept bugging me, I finally just changed, to get away from the voice that was bugging me. If you asked, I couldn't tell you what form I took on, but it seemed to stop the annoying hallucination.

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Two cliffhangers! I know I am just oh so evil. But I finished two chapters relatively fast so I think I can avoid getting veggies thrown at me for this. These two pages were about 15 pages in Microsoft word.


	9. Chapter 9

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This chapter will probably answer a lot of people's questions etc. Leaving the POV one sided per chapter leaves lots of gaps that I have to close up with the next chapter. So if you see a gap or have a question about something usually it will be answered in the next 1-2 chapters, if not feel free to ask lots of questions later everyone. If something is just unclear (like the forms were) then just go ahead and leave a question right away and I will try and leave an answer in the next chapter. Sorry if it took longer to get this up, been trying for DAYS to get this up but every time I went to log in ff said something like "Log in error please try again later". It was very annoying...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HEERO'S POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time seemed to slow to a crawl in the borders of the forest. I couldn't help but wonder what was taking so long. We had all figured to be out here a week, two at best. But time kept floating by. I could tell even the leaders were getting nervous at how long this was taking. I could curse Odin for his lack of sensibility in situations like this. I know it would never occur to him to send a messenger to us, to let us know what was happening and how long this would take. His mind worked different then ours, he would expect us to obey and stay out here without question, never assuming that we would think something was wrong on his end.

When winter started to roll in everyone was on edge, fights were breaking out, everyone snapping at the others. The leaders finally caved, conceding to take us back to the village, or at least close enough that they could leave and find out what was happening. I felt horrible at how I had parted with Duo, but I was just so in shock over the events of the day. It was like the sky had decided to fall on me and I couldn't deal with the little clouds blocking my sun at the time.

Everything seemed tense on the journey back. I think we were all afraid of what we would find when we returned home, afraid of finding nothing left of our village. I tried not to think about it, but every now and then I had nightmares of coming back to a flat and barren land, with no Mom, Duo or Odin in sight. I guess I was lucky to not be dreaming about corpses. But for some reason finding nothing seemed to scare me more than the idea of finding graves.

We had finally settled down for the night, we were close enough to the village that the plan was to send one of the leaders into the village tomorrow morning after everyone was awake. They would check in with the village to see what was happening. We didn't exactly have a plan on what to do if they didn't return.

Everyone had laid down, a few already asleep when we started picking up the scent of other wolves. We could even hear movement every now and then. The hair stood up on my back as the smell grew closer. It seemed to settle when I recognized one of them as Odin and the others seemed vaguely familiar as members of our pack. One of the leaders stood up, nodding to the others, heading in the direction of the smells.

He returned shortly after with Odin and a few of our guards. Odin looked around, surveying our status, before addressing the leaders directly. "Where are Noventa and the others I sent to retrieve you?"

The leader took on a look of surprise at the questions and gave a stuttering response. "Noventa never came, we came back to see what was wrong."

Odin's eyes grew wide at the statement, and then he looked back towards the village, letting out a low growl. "Everyone we are leaving now. If you have anything you were carrying leave it here for another time. We are going to be running full speed, make sure you do not get left behind. Something is wrong; we need to get back to the village now."

We all rose, nodding dumbly before rising and assembling in a group. Odin took off like a bolt, and most of the pack had a hard time keeping up. We started to form more of a line than a grouping. I was right on my fathers heels, with a few others capable of keeping up, everyone behind seemed to follow in pairs.

When we came to the village it was like a nightmare had come to life. There were forest wolves everywhere. Father didn't stop when we reached the borders or the brawl, he kept running, and I knew where he was going, and I was going with him. The youths spread out as well as the extra guards, all joining in the fights at the other end of the village.

I could see my mom lying outside our dwelling, blood staining the ground around her. I picked up my pace, rushing to her side with my father. She kept trying to say something, but it was barely a whisper and with the noise contaminating the air I couldn't pick it up. After a few attempts she went limp, her eyes staring blankly ahead, I knew she was gone. I saw Duo coming over out of the corner of my eye. A look of pure horror on his face, and blood smeared around his white coat. Why wasn't he fighting with the rest of the pack? Why was he covered in blood unless he had been fighting? I think I had probably resolved in my mind before even finding mother that the only possible thing that could have happened would have been Duo betraying us. No one else had the means or motive, as far as I knew. With us being gone he had been allowed to go unsupervised for a long time, and this is what happened.

That was probably my mom's blood smeared all over him, his wounds probably came from my mother fighting back against him. When he pretended to be upset about my mother I just snapped, I flew at him, biting anything I could get my teeth on. He didn't fight back and I couldn't understand why, but it didn't stop me. I heard Odin calling me off and finally pulling me off. We had accumulated a little bit of a crowd as well; Trowa, Quatre, and Noventa. I started shouting at Duo, everything I could think of, anything that came to mind. He just stared at us in a daze; perhaps he hadn't expected his plans to go this bad. I saw Odin move towards him. I didn't know if he planned to capture or kill, but it didn't matter, as Duo saw it as well and turned and fled faster than I could blink.

We all just sat there for a few moments, uncomprehending that this had all really happened. I think we were all in shock, even Odin hadn't moved. We saw Noventa limping over to us.

"Odin, we were ambushed while trying to retrieve the youths. I managed to survive and escape as soon as I could but the others... they are dead Odin. I am sorry I could not have come faster."

That seemed to set everyone in motion, and Odin started barking out orders. He told Noventa to chase after Duo, and to bring him back, unharmed. I could only imagine it was because Odin had his own revenge to exact, though, revenge usually wasn't my father's forte, but Duo had killed my mom, Odin's greatest treasure. I almost felt pity for the way Duo was likely to suffer.

Odin told us to go check on the others, to start helping everyone we could. Quatre ran to my side, his voice a little shaky.

"You don't really think Duo did this, do you Heero? That's not like Duo he is too nice, and sweet, I don't think he could hurt a mouse much less do all this."

I reeled at him, what was he getting at? "How could it not be him Quatre? He had motive and opportunity. The forest pack has been trying to take us down for years, and they are not above using underhanded methods to get too us."

He got a confused look and replied. "But Heero Duo doesn't exactly look like them either. I just don't think he did it."

I turned to directly face him with a low snarl "So no breed ever mutates? None of us ever change? The forest pack saw Duo was different from birth and took advantage of it."

I could barely finish before he replied "This all seems rather elaborate don't you think Heero?" I could just hear the disbelief in his tone.

"The forest pack is not above anything, it's the only possible scenario. Who else could have done it Quatre? Who else knew that our pack was weak and father was gone and had enough freedom and motive to pull this off? It all points back to Duo. His appearance doesn't matter; they could have mated one of their own with someone from another pack, or kidnapped him for all we know. Either way, I am done."

I spun and walked away leaving him standing there silently. I really didn't want to talk about any of it right now. I wanted to close myself off in my cocoon and just not think. It was the only way I could manage to not break down. I know my father and the others were probably burying my mother, and my best friend had just betrayed me and left. This was just too much to take.

I fell into bed numb that night; I saw the loose dirt where mother was buried not too far from our house. But I didn't want to think about it. I didn't hear Odin return all night; I expect he was too busy trying to get things back into control to sleep. To be honest I didn't get that much sleep either.

Noventa returned a few days later, empty handed, saying he had traced Duo to the jungle but lost his track there. He came back to rest for a few days then would return to searching. Odin was upset at the fact that he couldn't find Duo. I was so numb I couldn't decide if I cared or not.

It was about three days since everything took place. The shell around my mind was starting to break and I had conflicting feelings. Half of me would argue that it wasn't Duo, the emotional side. Reasons like why would he run to the jungle and not the forest pack after he left here? Then the logical side would step in and stomp it to death, pointing out all the little things that made Duo look suspicious and made Duo the only one who could have done it.

I hadn't really spoken to anyone since fighting with Quatre the night my world came crashing down. I had taken to walking on my own; avoiding my mother's grave like it was going to attack me. I think I was trying to avoid accepting that she was gone. But every night I came home to a cold and usually an empty home it was blaringly obvious that no matter how much I pretended, I couldn't escape reality.

Every night I fell onto a cold and lonely bed, with no Duo curled up against the wall, and no smell of dinner floating in the air. Every now and then I would hear the door open and shut for Odin, but it was usually late at night, and he was gone before sunrise.

The next day Noventa returned with some bones, claiming they were all he could find. They had been so picked apart by scavengers and so messed up that it was hard to pick up any scent from them. I felt my heart clench in fear that he might be dead, before my mind told it to stop, that if he was, he deserved it. I don't think I really believed that though. That night I fell asleep in bed with tears escaping my eyes. I couldn't decide if it was because Duo was gone, or if it was because he took all his answers with him.

I woke blearily on the fifth day, gazing out into the village to see people collecting. Zechs had returned, and at his side was a forest wolf. I was out the door faster than I could blink. Odin was already talking to them when I made it to them, just in time to hear Zechs speak.

"We came as soon as we could Odin, hoping to prevent any further damage. This is Treize; he is to be my mate. We met by accident, when he was trying to escape his pack as a youth. He has been my inside link to the forest pack ever since. He had to leave forever last week. He heard rumors about the planned attack, and on the night they came here, he came to me, not knowing what else to do. He knows who set this all up."

Odin interrupted him before he could speak anymore "We know who did it as well, the insolent whelp is dead. He infiltrated out pack as a pup sent in by the forest wolf. Duo's remains were found yesterday, in the jungle."

Treize stepped in then. "It wasn't Duo. We.. They didn't send any pup in here. It's one of your own who is betraying you. I have seen him in our village a few times, and I caught his name more than once. His name is Noventa. He has been coming back and forth to our village for years. He has a gray coat and blue eyes."

Odin became still as death at what Treize said. As if wondering if he could really trust this wolf. "If that truly is the case, I have a plan. We are all going to Noventa's dwelling; I want everyone to pretend that we know for certain it was him. Maybe he will admit it, maybe not. But I am not going to take a forest wolf's word over one of my own so easily."

My throat seemed to be stuck as I tried to swallow. Was it possible, that Duo had not done it? My mind had been trying to convince me of it for days now, but I had been rejecting the thoughts. We all slunk over to Noventa's dwelling. My father knocked on the door a few times, and then started pounding on it when no answer came. Noventa came out looking a little flushed and very irritated. "What is it Odin?"

Odin was a great actor, when he set his mind to something he was great at just about everything. "I have been informed of your actions Noventa. You have betrayed this pack, and will now face your punishment for it, death."

Noventa's eyes grew wide for a moment before he let out a sharp laugh. "You fools it took you this long to figure it out. I have been doing this for years, years worth of suspicious activity and slip ups. But still you kept me as close as ever, I have already won this battle Odin, you have failed. The forest pack will crush you all, and once they are done, I will take my rightful place, as leader of this pathetic pack."

I could tell my father was seething with hatred, he could barely contain himself. But Odin rarely ever lost control. I think though, at Noventa's confession and the death of my mom, it was finally enough to push him over the edge. I just saw a blur as he pounced onto Noventa.

The two struggled for a while, none of us stepping in, knowing Odin would likely try and kill us as well if we did. A crowd started to gather as people emerged from their dwellings. Finally Odin and Noventa changed into their half-forms. I saw my father throw Noventa into the corner of his house and we all heard a faint crack, knowing it was Noventa's neck. We watched as he gasped like a fish on the ground; Odin closing in on him, to try and end it all.

But Odin let his guard down and before anyone could even say anything, Noventa's claw shot out at my father's throat, tearing and slashing the best he could before it fell limply to his side and his final breath left his body.

We watched in shock and horror as the blood slipped between my fathers fingers, where they clenched at his throat. He collapsed on top of Noventa, his crimson blood flooding the land around them. His eyes locked with mine one last time, he was unable to speak anymore, but he smiled at me, and then he was gone. Was he happy because he was going to be with mother now? That he wouldn't have to suffer alone anymore? Or was that his way of saying his final goodbye and I love you?

This was a fairly unheard of event. Usually the leader or challenger survived to take lead of the pack. We had literally just been left leaderless. I felt like the world had just disappeared beneath me. I lost everything, mother, Odin... Duo... My thoughts kept spinning. Duo was innocent, I had killed him, I attacked him and chased him away. Whatever he ended up dying from, it was my fault. Or was he really even dead at all? Noventa had brought back the bones but we couldn't tell if they were Duo's. Had Noventa ever really found him? Was he out there, alone and suffering? I could barely even hope that he was somehow alright.

Quatre was the one who finally broke the stupor of the crowd "I think, we need to bury them..."

I nodded absently, changing into my half-form and Quatre into his. We picked up my father, carrying his still warm body over to where my mother had been buried. It was an unspoken understanding, where we were going to bury him. I imagined the rest of the pack was casting out Noventa's corpse to be consumed by scavengers. Everyone seemed to be working automatically, not thinking at all. What was a pack to do without a leader? Who would be the new leader? The one who killed Odin was dead. Odin was dead....

I think that was the moment where everything just hit me full force. Odin was dead, gone, so was mom, and Duo was probably dead as well. They were never coming back, ever. I threw the last handful of dirt onto my father's grave before stalking into our old dwelling and slamming the door behind me. Everywhere I looked I was reminded of my mistakes, of my losses. In my room I could think of nothing but what I had done to Duo, the kitchen was my mom's place, and the bed smelled strongly of Odin... of father.

I wound up sleeping curled up on the floor near the entrance, a few drops of moisture escaping my eyes. When I came out late the next day, Quatre was waiting by my door. "I know this is probably all a bit sudden, Heero. But while you were sleeping, the village decided on a course of action. For now you will be the leader, it just seems to be the best course of action. Everyone is going to try and take over some of Odin's responsibilities. In the summer any betas who wish to challenge you to take over, may, but from what I gathered today there are few to none who are thinking of it."

I nodded my approval then locked my bloodshot eyes with his slightly reddened ones. I had spent part of the night contemplating this, but I wasn't sure I was really thinking clearly and wanted Quatre's opinion on it. "Quatre, I have been thinking, maybe we should send someone out to look for Duo... We don't know for sure that he is dead and it... it only seems right, to try and find him."

Quatre smiled and rubbed his hands together. "I was thinking the same thing, and was hoping you would agree. But for now we cannot afford to send anyone out to find him. We are vulnerable, and the forest pack is probably watching our every move. I don't know if they will attack without Noventa, but I am hoping not. I think after we have a more solid foundation and some time has passed to ensure the forest pack will not immediately retaliate, we can send someone to investigate what happened."

I wanted to refuse; I knew that the longer we waited the less likely we were to find him alive, to even find him at all. But my logical side leapt in and kept screaming that Quatre was right, we couldn't risk sending anyone out alone and sending a group left the rest of us dangerously vulnerable. I felt such a great despair at everything.

I think I spent the day doing odd jobs, I can't exactly remember, I was just running on automatic the whole time. I walked into the dwelling at night, staring at everything for a long time before deciding to sleep in my parent's bed. For some reason the smells were soothing, and if I slept in my own bed I was reminded of how alone I was and how much I had messed up.

I woke up early the next morning and just stared at the kitchen for the longest time. I was just letting the anger build inside of me. I hated Noventa; I don't think I had ever felt such a strong hatred towards something before. When the sun finally bled through the window in the entry way I just snapped. I stormed out, slamming the door behind me, walking with a strong intention in my mind. No one else appeared to be awake, and it was probably better. I am not sure I wanted anyone else to see me like this.

I paused in front of Odin's dwelling, staring at the slightly ajar door. With a great conviction I pulled it open, looking at the abandoned room. I felt a wave of something strong wash over me and I gave into it. I grabbed the thing nearest to me and threw it. I just started throwing everything I could grab; throwing things against the wall, ripping the furs, breaking the things I could shatter or snap. This was the only way I could get back at Noventa. Even though I knew it didn't matter now at all, it still let me exhaust myself, body and mind.

I grabbed onto the sides of a tall, but mostly empty, book case and sent it crashing to the ground. Behind it was a large brown fur hanging on the wall and I grabbed it, ripping it down. I didn't expect for there to be a door behind it though. I let the fur fall limply to the ground at my feet, gazing at the simple door that had been hidden. I had been in here a few times before and never seen the door; I let my curiosity take over my common sense. Anything could have been behind that door, but I opened it anyway. The light trickled into the room before me, from the windows behind me. It was mostly dark but the light illuminated the glittering of shattered glass and a tray. It was a decent sized room. Odds and ends of things littered the walls and other objects were in piles. I opened the door completely, noting the deep chill in it, and the exit at the back. As light cast over the whole room my heart froze at what I found.

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I think this is a slightly less cliff hangery cliff hanger. Started work on the next chapter, will try and finish it within a reasonable amount of time considering how I left this one.

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	10. Chapter 10

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I had someone ask why Noventa didn't kidnap Relena. The reason is he had no  
reason or need to kidnap her. He kidnapped Duo because he was afraid his  
plan would be revealed, or figured out by Duo. Relena had nothing to offer  
him, and knew nothing. Sorry it took so long I have had this chapter for forever, but I wanted a buffer in case I hit a tough spot which I did and just never got around to uploading

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Heero's POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_As light cast over the whole room my heart froze at what I found._

A figure lay upon an old make shift bed, tied to the wall, a thin fur was tangled around his figure. I don't know how long I stared in shock at the rare form Duo had shown me before I left with the youths to hide in the forest. My knees finally fell into motion and I stumbled over to his side. His skin was flushed red and his body was shaking, but he didn't seem to be awake. I brushed the hair away from his face and felt the heat emanating from his forehead.

I had to get him help, but I couldn't take him out there like this, it would cause too much trouble. No one else knew Duo looked like this, that he could change into a human form. Who knows what some of the more traditional pack members would think, a fight could start over whether or not this was a demon of some sort and if we should treat him. I gently ran my thumb along his cheek as I laid my hand against his face and spoke in a steady voice

"Duo, I need you to change your form. Come on, just switch into something different."

He didn't change but I knew he could hear me, his forehead would scrunch together in annoyance and he would moan every now and then. I kept insisting, gently, that he needed to change. I was on the verge of giving up and just taking him out like this when I felt his form shift.

He grew bigger, white hair suddenly covering his form; this must be his half form. I didn't know he could change into this form, but I didn't have time to ponder it. I knew I couldn't carry him out of here alone; he was only slightly smaller than me like this. He needed to go to the clinic which was in the center of town, and Noventa's dwelling was on the edge near the forest. I ran back out through the secret entrance and the door to Noventa's dwelling. I went to the first place I could think of, and before I knew it I was banging on Trowa's door. Trowa's father was the town healer; he would know what to do. I kept hitting the wood as hard as I could until the door swung open, revealing a very annoyed looking Trowa

"What in the forest is wrong with you Heero? The sun just rose, we are trying to sleep!"

I found the words spilling out of my mouth, probably faster than they made sense.

"Duo is in Noventa's dwelling behind a secret entrance. He is really sick I need help moving him and I need your father to look at him."

I was left trying to catch my breath when I was finished and Trowa just had a confused for a few minutes, probably processing what I said in his head. Suddenly his father appeared in the doorway, looking sleep mussed.

"Trowa go with Heero to move Duo to the clinic, I will gather my things and hopefully be ready by the time you get there. Do you know what is wrong with him Heero?"

I nodded my head, then shook it, deciding to explain, adrenaline taking over my control. "He has a high fever, and I think I saw a few infected wounds. I... I don't know what else is wrong."

He seemed to realize I was losing control and just nodded and told me calmly to take Trowa over to where Duo was and then to take Duo to the clinic. I nodded and turned, expecting Trowa to follow me.

It kind of turns into a blur from there; we got to Noventa's dwelling and Trowa helped me carry Duo out. I think he may have asked when Duo got his half-form but I am not sure I responded or not. The scent was Duo's and that was enough to convince Trowa. Duo stayed limp the whole time we moved him, not even making a sound. We came through the doors to the clinic to see Trowa's dad, Harris, setting up his instruments. He motioned to the nearest bed and we quickly set Duo down on it. It had been covered with furs to make it warm.

Harris shoved Trowa outside and told him to make sure no one else came in. I was stationed at the inside of the entrance, I think mostly he just wanted me out of the way, but knew I wouldn't leave. I watched him run his tests. He was looking over Duo's wounds, taking his temperature, injecting him with things before he finally laid a fur over him, covering him up.

I had heard Trowa talking outside a few times to people who had come to see Harris. They seemed to disappear just as fast as they came though. I saw Harris washing the wound on Duo's neck, and I flinched, remembering it was one of the ones I gave him.

The door suddenly burst open, revealing a light golden half-form that was Quatre. "Is it, is it really true? Is he here? Did you really find him Heero?"

I nodded slowly and he gazed over to the bed that Harris had just moved Duo too, after finishing the bandages around his neck. I could see tears forming in the corner of Quatre's eyes as he ran to Duo's side. Trowa came in just behind him.

"I am sorry, the rumor is flying all over town, and he gave me the look, I couldn't say no." Harris and I nodded in understanding, Quatre could be very convincing. I walked slowly over to Duo's side, almost afraid to touch him. Quatre was practically crying at the sight of him and looked afraid to touch him as well.

I gently ran my fingers over his hand, not sure how to feel. I wanted to be happy that he was alive, but he looked horrible, he didn't even look like he was alive. I was to blame for all of this, I did this too him. I jumped to conclusions, attacked him, and chased him away. Would he hate me when he became lucid again? Would he become lucid again? I couldn't blame him if he hated me, I deserved it.

I heard Harris talking and turned to stare at him blankly. He seemed to catch on that I had not heard and repeated it again, slightly louder.

"I think we should keep Duo here for a few days, moving him like this is risky and if something goes wrong he can get help faster here. But if he gets better, in a few days you can take him home. I don't like that he will probably be exposed to a lot of noise and disturbances here, but for now, its necessary he stays."

I nodded quickly, gently taking Duo's limp hand into my own, and squeezing. The joy that had been denied me earlier slowly began to fill me. It sounded like the doctor was optimistic about his chances, which was good. But I needed all the details.

"What do we need to do, how bad is it?"

He seemed to catch on that I was slowly coming out of my stupor and went back to talking normally. I had to give Harris credit; he was a very wise man.

"Well I won't lie the fever is very bad, as are the infections in his wounds. But none of the wounds appear to be life threatening. Right now his system is weak, so fighting off the infection has been hard. I doubt Noventa was treating his fever or infection in any way and Duo was probably already weak and tired when it set in. He was also dehydrated and a bit delirious, but with the ability to fight the infection with medication, and to stay hydrated and warm he should be able to overcome this. The hardest part is the infection and the fever it is causing. Infections are a tricky thing, a somewhat healthy wolf can lose to an infection others can be on deaths door and fight off an infection no problem. He could be well enough to be moved in a few days or we could be in here battling this for weeks. Only time will tell."

I nodded, still holding onto hope. Our best chance was if the medications were effective against the infection. Hopefully with being cared for Duo's body would also become strong enough to fight off the infection. I can only imagine the stupid grin I had on my face, because I was getting a weird look from Harris. After a few minutes of letting Quatre, Trowa and I, hover around Duo he finally stepped in.

"Alright, I know you are happy to see him, I am sure everyone will be. Duo just has a way of making you like him, willingly or not. But right now he needs to be left alone, all this noise and movement is just going to bother him. I will try partially covering the windows to dim some of the lights in here and hopefully things will be quiet for the next few days so he can sleep peacefully. You can come back tomorrow and see him again for a few minutes."

We all rose to our feet and heading out to start the day. It wasn't that we wanted to leave, but we knew the doctor was right, Duo just needed to be left alone aside from medical care. Half the day was spent fixing some of the more odd rumors that had started, and letting everyone know what had happened. Trowa was set up as a permanent guard outside the doctor because wolves kept trying to come in and get glimpses of Duo. Some even faked injuries or claimed to be sick to try and get in. Most were disappointed when the doctor came outside to treat them.

The next morning the three of us were stationed outside the clinic, waiting as Harris opened the door to let us in. Harris had slept in the clinic to keep an eye on Duo, Quatre had dragged Trowa out of bed; but that was after I had banged down Quatre's door when I woke up early and couldn't find anything else to do.

Duo was still asleep and Harris gave us an update on everything. The infection in the wounds had died down a lot, although his fever was still high. He had not become conscious since we brought him in but he was probably very tired. We weren't allowed to stay for very long and got kicked out to start the morning's work.

This routine went on for almost a week, the only change being Harris saying Duo had opened his eyes a few times for a short while. Duo's fever had finally broken on the sixth day. The nervous excitement in the pack seemed to die down after that, people knew what had happened and even though most of them didn't get to actually see Duo they were willing to leave him alone.

It seemed like luck was finally on our side, there had been no signs of the forest pack and we found the tunnel in the back of Noventa's dwelling and closed it off. Only speculation could be had, as to what was happening in the other pack. We suspected without their inside source they had backed off for a while. Which gave us time to rebound from everything, but with the word of Odin's death spreading like wildfire we soon had visitors. Zech's and his to-be-mate Treize had returned to the lands of the field clan the day after my father died. He promised to return later to figure out how his pack stood with ours now that Odin was deceased.

It was the rumors that brought the black wolves to our pack. I hadn't seen them myself, as they were here while I was in the forest. Their leader, Wufei had come to us to figure out negotiations. It usually tradition that the new pack leader would travel to the other lands to make negotiations and not vice versa. But these were odd circumstances, most of Odin's pacts had not yet been carried out and we still felt too vulnerable to send anyone out of the pack.

He approached me, since I was the "leader" for now anyways.

"I am not quite sure how we are to handle this situation. My pact with your father was not fully carried out on either side. I would like to renew the same deal with you, if possible. Or at least negotiate similar terms."

I was getting ready to run boundaries when he had approached me. I promised to discuss it later with him and headed out with a few of the guards to check the grounds. I saw him heading over to talk to Quatre as I left, but he was nowhere in sight when I returned.

I tracked down Quatre easily enough and started asking questions. "What happened to Wufei? I saw his guards but cannot find him."

Quatre got this kind of weird, pondering look. "Well after you left he came to talk to me, asked me some weird questions for a while and then we just talked. Not too long ago he asked if I knew everyone in the pack and if I would be able to find a friend he made last time he was here. I answered yes, and then he asked me where Duo was. I told him Duo was ill and was being kept at the clinic and then he nodded and walked off."

I thanked Quatre and then quickly made my way over to the clinic. After Duo's fever had lessened, shortly before it broke, Harris had taken to leaving Duo alone in the clinic. The plan was to move him back home tomorrow if he was still holding up well. The pack had been warned to stay out of the clinic and that doctor Harris would be making home visits should anyone need help. Because the clinic is basically in the center of the village we hadn't felt the need to leave a guard, since the pack agreed to stay out.

Anybody could have just walked right in there and that thought scared me. I barreled into the door, it slammed open under my weight and I was left with a rather angry looking Wufei glaring at me. He was slightly larger than me in his half-form, but he was also older, so I still had a chance to catch up. He had a small mane of longer hair along his neck, much like Duo.

"You should not be in here."

I said in the most threatening tone I could manage. He was sitting in a chair he had pulled to Duo's bedside. His hand was clasped around Duo's and as I spoke he put his finger to his lips in the universal sign of silence.

I glared for all I was worth then felt like melting when I saw Duo's eyes opening. He looked up at Wufei, probably woken up by all the noise I made, and kept blinking and squinting. All the windows had been completely blocked, leaving the room mostly dark, he probably couldn't see much of anything. Wufei squeezed his hand and spoke softly to him, running his other hand gently over Duo's cheek.

"Hello my angel; I am sorry if we disturbed your sleep."

I felt my whole body bristle at the comment, and motioned to the door for us both to leave. He stood up gracefully and then leaned down to nuzzle Duo's cheek which earned him a loud growl from me. Duo's eyes were already mostly closed again as he drifted into the land of dreams once more. Wufei just smiled, with a deep smug look and then followed me out of the clinic. I took him to my house to settle this.

I slammed the door behind him and spoke in a not so subtle hostile tone. "Tell me the terms that you took with my father, and we will get these negotiations completed as quickly as possible. Then you are to leave with the next rising sun."

He seemed to keep calm despite my clearly aggressive attitude. His voice steady and if it belonged to someone else it would probably have been soothing as well.

"Well I am sure you know most of the common terms of alliance. If either pack is in danger they may call on the other for aide; whether the call is for warriors or food, unless it would put the provider in grave danger. Neither pack is to attack the other on punishment of leader disbarment, and possible execution. Should either pack lose their territory, the other is obligated to take them in. The leaders are to remain loyal to each other until death, and thus the end of the contract."

I nodded; these were the typical terms of any peace treaty. I motioned for him to continue on what most considered bribes. The bribes were gifts or promises offered by one or typically as proof of their commitment to the treaty or to entice someone to accept it.

"The promises were kept to a minimum. I was eager to return to my pack and I am sure he was eager to finish all negotiations with me. He wanted some of our rare herbs that our doctors are famous for, that only grow in the caves. Along with some furs from cave bears and a few birds we raise for food. In exchange for these items we were to receive mountain lion furs and a few dried herbs that only grow in this region.... there was also the promise of a pack member in this pack, would be ... sent to live with us."

My eyes grew wide in shock; I could tell he was wording things carefully. It was not uncommon for pack members to be exchanged, or "given" as bribes, but usually it was with the consent of the individuals and it was usually because they had chosen to leave. But there were exceptions, and I wouldn't put it past Odin to be one.

"Which pack member?"

I think I already knew in the back of my mind what he was going to say, but I had to have confirmation, I needed to hear it to make sure. He hesitated, clearly feeling uncomfortable discussing this particular part of the pact.

"...Duo"

I felt myself go rigid; every hair on my body raising and a growl escaped my mouth before I could stop it. I took a moment to take a few breaths and calm myself. Since neither side of the contract had yet been carried out, he had no claim to Duo. Usually the exchanges took place a year after the pact was made; it was like a trial period. I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"You can't have him; he is not leaving with you!"

I could see his hair rising and his eyes growing dark, he wasn't going to let this go without some sort of a fight. I quickly defused the situation.

"Was Duo aware of this... deal? Did he accept these terms, or was it just Odin?"

Wufei seemed to be back to his normal calm once he realized I wasn't going to try and kill him where he stood.

"Odin had ... insinuated that Duo had been made aware and accepted, even going so far as saying so once. But I saw how he, and the others treated Duo, I doubted he asked, or even let him know. I still felt... alright with the deal, despite my suspicions of Duo's lack of knowledge, merely because I felt he would be better cared for in my clan."

He seemed to grow very bold at that moment, as if a fire was lit inside him.

"Based on how I have found him upon my return, I can see my assumptions were not unwarranted. It was not hard to find out what happened by talking to a few members of your pack. You attacked him, more or less, you did this to him. Your actions have just solidified my belief that Duo does not belong here, he deserves better."

As much as I wanted to shout at him and deny all his claims I knew they were somewhat true my father tended to treat Duo differently. I can only imagine how he had been treated while I was gone. Duo had always done his best to ignore it and let it go. But with all the youths gone and so many of the pack concentrated on other things Duo had probably been ignored completely and maybe mistreated a little.

His claims about me hurt the most because they were true. I couldn't argue with him on any of it. He was right, about just about everything. Maybe... maybe Duo didn't belong here with us. I knew for sure he deserved better, but I wasn't ready to admit it that Wufei was better right then.

"You can't have him. I am tired now, we will continue negotiations tomorrow."

He nodded curtly and left. I stood there for a few minutes considering what was to come. I let out a long and frustrated breath. I was moving Duo back tonight, I couldn't wait another night, and I couldn't leave him unguarded with Chang around. I went through the door determined to find Harris. Unless it was seriously going to hurt Duo he was coming home, tonight.

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Look, look! It's not a complete cliffhanger. Just seemed like a good place to stop this chapter and start fresh with a new one. I hit a huge snag with this story and started hating the two chapters following the next one and ended up deleting them and started to rewrite them today with much more success and happiness so hopefully that gets me back on track.

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	11. Chapter 11

Okay so to make up for the long wait, I will post up two chapters that I have. The next chapter is not done but I finally like where the next chapter is going so it shouldnt take that long.

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I sat in the clinic, staring down at Duo's peaceful face while sleeping. Wufei had been so forward to him; I began to wonder if there was something between them. Duo hadn't done anything to stop his advances, but who knew how awake and aware Duo really was at the time. Maybe Duo would really want to go with Wufei... I could feel my nails biting into my hand at the thought; I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want to let him go, but wasn't this exactly what I was preparing for when I pushed him away? Didn't I already see this coming? I had to stop thinking like that though, nothing was finite, and this was going to take time.

Harris walked in with Trowa and Quatre, I nodded to the group. It was decided that we were going to move Duo to my house immediately. Harris agreed when I told him about Wufei coming into the clinic with Duo when no one was here.

It was decided that Trowa and I would carry Duo to my place, and Quatre and Harris would be there to assist. I wrapped him tightly in a few furs, it was still cold outside and the last thing Duo needed was a chill. Trowa and I lifted him and carried him out. There was a small crowd gathered around, the pack was extremely nosey. I couldn't exactly blame them for it either. My blood boiled when I saw Chang, he was watching us very closely and seemed to trail about a dozen feet behind us the whole way even going so far as to follow us into my house.

We laid Duo gently on our old bed after unwrapping him from the blankets. I laid the still warm furs on top of him and added a few more for good measure. I was tempted to crawl into the bed with him and never let go, but I still had guests, and I would be overstepping my bounds.

I walked out into the kitchen were Harris had taken a seat at the table and Trowa and Quatre glared awkwardly at Wufei. I joined in their glaring but it seemed to roll right off his coat.

"I am here to ensure Duo is properly cared for and nothing more and I will not leave until I am satisfied that he is properly settled."

I think he was hinting that he wanted to go in and see Duo, but there was no chance of that in my mind. But before I could say anything we heard some slight whimpering coming from Duo's room. I turned so fast the room seemed to have some trouble keeping up. It also seemed no one would be denied access to Duo now, as they all followed me in. The small room was now packed. But we were all silent as we heard Duo whimpering. We couldn't make out most of it but something finally got through.

"Hot…it's too hot"

I jumped forward to place my hand on his forehead, fearing the worst. But just as my hand covered his forehead his body shifted, back into that cursed human form. I froze and I think everyone in the room stopped breathing and I could just picture their eyes falling from their sockets in my mind. I was scared; I didn't know what they would say or how they would react. Quatre was the first to break the imposed silence.

"What is this? Is Duo a human?"

Harris seemed to be slightly puzzled as well but responded. "No, humans are unable to change at all; I have never seen anything like this."

The one that shocked us all though, was Trowa...

"I have... well I mean.... never mind I will show you. Give me a moment I will be back soon."

We sat there just gaping as Trowa ran out the front door. The only one left to speak or do anything was Wufei. He moved forward next to me and reached a hand out and brushed the human-like bangs away from Duo's face.

"He still smells like Duo, and he is still Duo. I am not seeing a problem here?"

I was shocked to say the least, that he had been so quick and openly accepting of this change in Duo. I was expecting some sort of scene or maybe hoping that he would now find Duo vile and would let go of his pursuit. Considering my own reaction to the change in Duo, Change definitely had just beaten me.

We were all sitting at the table when Trowa came back in, clutching an odd looking book in his hands. We had pulled a few furs off of Duo and then Harris told us it would be best to just let him be. Harris was the first to speak up, at the sight of his son clutching the book.

"That's one of the books from my clinic."

Trowa nodded and then launched into explanation. "When I was young, my mother would leave me at the clinic a lot with father. She was always freaking out that I would get hurt and didn't want to leave me alone, but she had things to do. There was not a lot of entertainment for a kid in a clinic, but eventually I took to reading some of the odd books. I remember reading about this in one of the books when I was young."

He put the book down on the table and opened it, searching through the pages to find what he wanted. "This is mostly a healing book but it also has a good amount of history for our species in it. It's a very in depth history with a lot of rare information, things that we don't normally learn."

Harris nodded in understanding and added his own words to the conversation. "I usually use these books for medical references; many of my books have entire sections I have never even looked at, because they do not contain medical information."

Trowa's eyes continued to scan the pages until he stopped and picked up the book, reading it aloud. "A commonly unknown historical trait for the wolf species is their ability to change into a human form. This species was believed to have descended from humans in some ways and before the great wars; they often hid among humans looking just like them. After the banishment many of the sub-species stopped using this ability and it was lost. Almost no packs are known to still change into this form, but there are hundreds of hidden clans, all varying in appearance and ability, though it is suspected that all wolves can accomplish it, but do not know how."

The book was then set on the table before us all, so everyone could read. It was shocking, to say the least, for all of us. To think that we could probably all change into a third form was beyond unbelievable. We could look like humans naturally and that this information was virtually unknown. Duo had shifted into the form by accident at first, or so he had told me. But it could have been anything that set it off, it could have been anyone that had changed.

We all sat in silence for a few minutes and I was the first to speak, saying what we were all thinking. "So, the book suspects we can all change into a human form, not just a select few. So this means that, we could change as well."

I didn't exactly feel comfortable having Wufei still present but I had somewhat put his presence and conflict in the back of my mind. There were bigger things at work here, how did we inform the pack of this? I had been afraid to show Duo to them like this before, and I felt a little ashamed of that now, but I still had the same worries. How would they react? I decided then and there that I would not put Duo as the front man in this. He was sick, he was tired and he was weak. He had been through enough pain to last him forever; if anyone was going to take the brunt of whatever was to come it would be me.

"For now, I suggest we do not tell anyone Duo can do this. People will be harassing him non-stop just to get a look. I don't know how some of the older members will react either. I think its best to just let this stay hidden until someone else can figure out how to do the change."

Harris agreed quickly, I really liked the man; he always had his patient's best interests at heart. Wufei responded next, stating that he didn't see the need for all this secrecy amongst a pack but that he would do what was best for Duo. Quatre and Trowa nodded in agreement.

"I think for now we all just need some sleep and we will figure this out in the morning."

Time had slipped by quickly with the rush of everything. It was late and we were all, clearly, tired. Wufei left my house without a fight and the others wandered off to their own homes. I locked the door tightly behind Wufei, not wanting him to sneak in, during the morning hours to try and visit Duo.

I checked on Duo one last time, finding him sound asleep and seemingly comfortable before I went and climbed into my parents bed. As comforting as it would be to have Duo curled up against my back in our old bed just like old times, I knew I had no right.

I fell asleep after a while, but it felt like only moments later I woke up again, there were sounds coming from Duo's room. I leapt out of the bed and ran in there. He was crying out and thrashing around slightly. I kneeled next to him, running my hand over his forehead, feeling that his fever had gone up a bit. It was nothing alarming, but obviously enough to cause him pain. I gently clasped his bare hand and squeezed, speaking in a low and firm tone, telling him to wake up. About the fourth time he seemed to catch on and his eyes flew open, as he sat up quickly in the bed.

"Wh.. where am I?"

He seemed to be having trouble figuring everything out so I kept my voice as calm as I could.

"You are home, we moved you here earlier this evening."

He looked down at the bed, then around the room and seemed to accept all of it. Suddenly his whole body jumped, and he spun to face me, reeling a little bit at moving so fast. I grabbed onto his shoulders to steady him but he was desperate to get out whatever he was thinking.

"Noventa, it was Noventa. Please you have to be careful you have to stop him. I didn't do it please it was Noventa... I tried to stop them from killing mo... your mother but I failed, I was so weak, I am so sorry Heero."

His voice was taking on a desperate almost frantic tone too it. I squeezed my hands around his shoulders and interrupted him.

"We know Duo, we found you in Noventa's old dwelling. You don't have to worry, Noventa is dead. We found out everything. You don't need to apologize; I know you tried your best."

He bit his lower lip and looked away nodding. I could see the emotion building in him, and the tears being held in check behind his eyes.

"I wasn't strong enough to stop them, I am sorry I am so useless. I couldn't even protect her..."

I let out a deep sigh, and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling him into my arms into a hug.

"None of this was your fault. I am so sorry for everything, for suspecting you, for attacking you. Chasing you away, everything that has happened, it was all my fault."

He pulled back, gazing at me wide-eyed. Like I just told him we were going to sacrifice him to the wheat gods or something.

"No, no, Heero you did nothing wrong. It made perfect sense for you to blame me. I probably would have blamed me in your position. I don't blame you at all."

I could feel tears prickling in the back of my eyes and I pulled him into a tight hug. As much as I had wanted to hear him say he forgave me, I didn't want him to say he didn't blame me. I blamed me, and I think Quatre did as well, but Quatre was too kind to say anything. I needed someone to blame me. But I didn't feel like fighting with Duo about this. I heard him whisper something and just barely caught this.

"Where were you before you woke me up? I know you weren't in here with me."

I nodded and loosened my arms from around him, letting them fall to my sides. I could see him get a look of confusion then he looked down to his lap. He spoke up again, as I was getting ready to reply.

"Oh! I am sorry I didn't realize I was in this form. I will change, I know it bugs you."

I put up a hand to stop him, but he had already shifted into his half form. "No, Duo it doesn't bug me, I am just worried about what the pack is going to... do if they are frightened by this change. I don't care what you look like I just want you to not change around the others of the pack. Just until we can get this figured out..."

I continued on after a short pause, realizing his question was still lingering. "I was sleeping in the other bed by the kitchen."

He gave me a funny look "But then where is Odin sleeping?"

I hesitated, knowing this was going to be hard to answer. "Odin ... Odin is dead. Noventa killed him shortly before Noventa died."

I could see his ears turn back and lay down and his hands started to shake. He threw himself against me and I felt him shaking. It didn't last long, he was so worn out it exhausted him and he fell asleep. Once I knew he wouldn't wake I laid him back down fully on the bed and went back to the other bed.

I woke up again to the sound of pounding against my door. I could see Chang through the glass and snarled. I opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind me. "What do you want?"

He crossed his arms defensively and smiled, his voice taking on a sarcastic tone. "I came to bid you good morning and see if you wanted breakfast. I think we both know I am here to see Duo. Now if you will move aside?"

I had just about enough of him at this point. "No, I refuse to let you see him, I forbid it."

I had been about to tell him that we would finish negotiations today and he would leave but he interrupted me with almost a roaring voice. "It's not your choice to make. Do you really think you are any better than Odin if you keep controlling him like this?"

I felt my hand close around his throat before my brain caught up to it. I let it go immediately though. Replaying his words in my head, because damnit he had a good point. It wasn't my choice to make. I opened the door and leaned against the frame, letting out a long, frustrated sigh before nodding. "Fine, you can see him, but I will throw you out if you do anything wrong."

He smiled then, and I could see just how handsome he was. Again I wondered how much was between the pair of them. Was I wrong to do this and keep them apart? I had not yet spoken to Duo about Chang and the bargain, would Duo be mad? I decided then that I would let Duo decide what he wanted to do. If he wanted to stay here I would be elated... if Chang had won him over... I would let him go. He deserved better than me, and I had no qualms in admitting Chang was infinitely better, he didn't deserve Duo, but he was far more worthy than I.

I shut the door and walked into the kitchen, able to still see Duo and Wufei out of the corner of my eye. He just sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked Duo's arm. I started to make something for breakfast. I wasn't exactly the greatest cook but mom had taught me a few things. I think my heart was ready to break when I saw what happened next.

Duo slowly opened his eyes, and blinked away the morning drowsiness. When he finally saw and recognized Wufei he got the biggest smile I have seen since before I left for the forest. He sat up in the bed and threw his arms around Chang's neck. Wufei took too much pleasure in the contact for my taste and he pulled Duo close, hugging him tightly.

Their voices were low but I could still hear everything once Duo pulled back. "Wufei? What are you doing here?"

I saw him smile and chuckle, reaching up to run his hand over Duo's ear. "Well here I came all this way for some swimming lessons only to find my teacher was incapacitated."

I could see Duo roll his eyes and swat at Chang playfully. "What idiot comes to swim in winter? The river is probably frozen solid Wuffles!"

Wufei laughed at that and made a quick comeback. "Well then maybe I came to get lessons that would teach me how to walk on water."

Duo looked thoughtful for a moment before he smiled again. "That's rather clever; I guess I never thought of walking on ice like that before."

I felt like throwing something at Wufei. They got along so well, clearly they were at the least, very good friends, probably much better than I had been with Duo. I decided then to let my pride take a hit if it was for Duo's benefit. I walked over to the pair and leaned against the door frame. Duo turned and smiled "Good morning, Heero."

My heart jumped at the smile and his voice but I tried to keep my own from squeaking because of it. "Good morning, Duo. Chang are... will you be staying for breakfast?"

I could have laughed at the look Wufei gave me but instead I just settled for a smug smile. Duo turned to Wufei and grabbed his hand. "Please stay?" I knew Duo was using his pleading face and if Chang was mortal there was no way he could say no.

But any smugness I had was lost at Duo's pleading for him to stay and holding his hand. Wufei nodded and agreed to stay. I had dug my own hole with that one, but it was worth it if it made Duo happy.

We were half through breakfast when we got our first visitor. I had decided Duo would stay in bed and we would sit around him and eat. This was the scene Quatre had burst in on "Good morning, everyone." He froze at the sight of Wufei next to Duo's bed, and I know he was shooting questioning looks at me but I ignored them, I didn't want to explain anything right now.

He enveloped Duo in a hug and sat next to him on the bed, happy to just sit and talk while the rest of us ate. Breakfast wore Duo out, all the visitors and excitement was too much for him and I could see him struggling to stay awake. Now I had a good reason to toss Chang out and I wasn't going to pass it up. I picked up my plate and Duo's. "I think Duo needs some more sleep so let's all leave him alone for a while"

Duo looked like he wanted to protest but all that came out was a large yawn. He lay back down after Quatre stood up and I pulled the blankets back up around him. Change didn't need a second hint and left the house quickly, and Quatre went with him.

As Duo slept I sat in a kitchen chair, contemplating what was going to happen next. How I was going to handle all of this. I had already decided to let Duo decide if he wanted to go with Chang or not. That was one thing I would be careful not to unduly influence. But should I tell him of my father's deal? My feelings?

If Duo was going to go with him it wouldn't be for a while. Duo would not be up to that journey anytime soon and I wouldn't let him, even if he hated me for it, I wouldn't have him hurt again if I could stop it. He wouldn't leave until he was ready, if he was leaving.

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	12. Chapter 12

Yay! New chapter, I am starting to feel like I am finally back on track with privilege and I am hoping chapters will be more consistent. Enjoy!

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Harris came by later in the morning, to check on Duo, I left while he was there. I had certain things I had to do as the leader and as much as I wanted I couldn't just write them off and stay with Duo forever. I just hoped I wouldn't come back and find Chang curled up in bed with Duo. That's the way things seemed to be going at this rate.

I came back just as Harris was leaving and saw Duo sitting up in bed. I sat next to him and smiled as he stared into space, obviously lost in his thoughts. "Do you need anything Duo?" He shook his head no.

As I went to stand up his hand on my wrist stopped me. "Heero, why do you... I mean how come you don't.... never mind." I could see the resignation the same as the day I left and he showed me his secret. I wouldn't walk away this time though. "Go on, ask, Duo." He let out a long and shaky sigh. "Why did you hate me? How come, you kept pushing me away?"

Wufei could have come in; swept Duo off and walked off with him right then and I probably wouldn't have noticed I was so thrown off by what Duo was asking. I wrapped his hands in my own. "Duo I don't hate you, I was just...foolish. I was worried about things and I thought keeping everyone at a distance was a good idea. I wasn't mad at you and I didn't want you to feel like I hated you."

I could see him shudder and struggle to get the words out of his tight throat. "I just couldn't figure out why you were doing it. I thought you were mad at me and I kept trying to fix it but nothing was working. That day you left I thought you hated me. The only reason I could think of was... because I was weak. I am nothing; I have no family no home. When I left here it was the hardest thing I had to do, and I realized how truly alone I am in this world. I am not worthy anything, and I couldn't even protect the pack when we were attacked."

Towards the end his tone was becoming hysteric. "You didn't fail anyone; you did what you could, you were never trained to fight so retreating was your best option."

He took a deep breath that rattled through his chest, as if trying to get enough air just to speak. "But I did fight Heero, I tried to get to her but I couldn't move fast enough."

Realization dawned in my eyes, remembering the scene we had stumbled upon following my return to the pack. There was a large wolf who was dead not far from my mother's body. That thing was easily twice my size, much less Duo who, though as tall as me, was very wiry in his build. I would wonder if I could have fought off that behemoth. I grabbed Duo and pulled him to me, crushing his form to my chest. "You did more than enough, more than I ever could have in your place. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't survived, I lost mom and Odin in this ordeal, I can't lose you too, you are all I have left."

I knew I was being unfair and pleading my case even though he probably didn't know yet. I was being a little underhanded but it was true. I don't now what I would do if he left with Wufei. I had done my best to push him way only for it to hurt him and do nothing for my strong attachment to him. I felt so horrible, and so wrong, but I couldn't let him go. I knew I was selfish but if he was going to leave I was going to take everything I could get before then.

I hid my face in his neck, feeling my whole body tremble with the onslaught of tears. I could feel his arms come around me and gently rub my back. I didn't want to just dump this all on him, but I found once I started I couldn't stop. I must have dozed off, I don't know for how long. I woke up lying in my old bed with Duo curled up at my back and one of his arms wrapped around me as if to comfort me. He seemed to be in a heavy sleep, he would still wear out easily because of how sick he had been.

I slid out from under his arm, trying to get my bearings for time. It looked to be early evening, and I couldn't believe how long I had slept. But at the same time I felt much better, like some of the pressures had been eased.

I looked down at Duo's still form and trailed my hand over his cheek and along his jaw and neck before I gently rubbed it up and down his side. I could see him starting to move and stir and knew I should stop soon, since I didn't want to wake him but I gave in one more time and muttered "beautiful". He went deathly still then, his eyes flying open and he was suddenly in motion moving away from me and pushing against the wall. I had obviously greatly overstepped my bounds, and worked quickly to rectify the situation, my voice sounding faster than I had ever heard it before as I felt my heart racing. "I am so sorry Duo. I was wrong, I shouldn't have done that, I... won't do it again"

I could see him panting slightly and struggling to reply his body shaking. Then he looked at me, tears rimming the edges of his beautiful eyes. Oh gods I had made him cry, I was a monster...

"No, it's not.. it's okay, I mean... It wasn't you." It was obvious his inner struggle got a lot harder right then and he let out a loud sob and I could see the lump in his throat as he swallowed before speaking. "Noventa he... he would call me things like pretty, gorgeous, beautiful, and he liked to... touch me. I just thought I was back there for a second."

I felt murder pulse in my veins. I had not even thought of what possible demons Duo could have faced in there. I took the time to calm my voice; I didn't want to scare him further with my anger. "Did... did he force you, Duo?" Another sob, and I felt like destroying something, but I still waited for him to answer completely. "No, he never went that far. The.. the last day I saw him alive I think he would have done it, he kept touching me and he kissed me. But he was distracted by someone banging on his door and that was the last time I saw him."

It had been too close. Had it not been for Odin confronting him, Noventa would have... I stood up and paced on the floor, a growl issuing from my throat only for it to die with Duo's sudden outburst. "I tried to fight him, I couldn't stop it, I swear I tried. I'm sorry." My eyes filled with sadness as he obviously struggled to hold back the tears. I knelt by him and gently hand my hand over his cheek "I know Duo, I am not mad at you... I just need some time to calm down". I couldn't stay here right now, I was so upset and it would only cause Duo problems, he obviously had some serious issues with his own worth and I didn't want to compound those.

I walked out of the dwelling quickly, while Duo just seemed to sit silently on the bed. I got outside the door and only made it a few steps before running into Wufei. He looked at me questioningly, but I wasn't going to tell him anything. After waiting a few moments he decided to speak up.

"I came to see if we could settle on some terms."

I swallowed and nodded, now was probably not the best time to be discussing these things with him but I needed a distraction and proceeded. "I have come to a decision, that I will accept your terms of you taking Duo as part of the treaty..." I found it almost impossible to swallow, my throat closing up and my voice barely coming out as more than a whisper as I continued. "Only if that is what he wishes..." I could feel the tear rolling down my cheek but wiping it away would be more an acknowledgement of its existence and I didn't want to concede it was there.

Chang's face grew serious, as he nodded, accepting my terms. "I was going to propose something much the same, and give him the option of always being welcome at my pack, no matter what the outcome of this treaty."

I could only nod absently, wanting to just shake him and say no, to run into the forest and keep running until I collapsed, to shout at the top of my lungs until I had no breath left. But the sound of a crash from inside my dwelling pushed all that away and I ran back inside, Wufei at my heels.

Duo was frantically pacing around, a satchel sitting on his bed, partially full of items. His whole body was shaking, probably with fatigue; he had barely sat up in bed much less even walked before now. I moved quickly to his side placing a hand on his shoulder. "Duo, what are you doing? You should be in bed." He wrenched his shoulder away from me but it was a mistake as his body gave out and he began to tumble. I caught him and pulled him close to me "Duo, please, whatever it is you can do it later, or let me do it."

He struggled in my grasp, pushing away from me with a low growl. I let him go but held onto his wrist to keep him from standing up. "What? Don't want to me to set back the timeline for your precious pact? Did you even care at all what Noventa did, or were you just worried that I was tainted goods and Wufei would back out?" He let out a low sob and wiped something from his eyes.

My body froze and he managed to pull his wrist from my limp grasp and stood up again going back to packing. I glared at the satchel on the bed, commanding my mouth to work but it wasn't. He saw me glaring at the pack and looked at me. "Oh... I suppose that's right, these aren't really my things, are they, I am just a possession myself." I saw his hands fall limp, dropping the small toy my mother made for him onto the floor.

Wufei finally seemed to catch on and he tried to grab Duo, but Duo pulled away. "You are my best friend Wufei, but this is... was my home, I thought I was welcome. But they didn't want me, they don't want me. Why don't they want me, why am I so horrible? What did I do? Why doesn't anyone want me..."

He started breathing faster and faster as he spoke, like he was having trouble breathing. The faster he breathed the harder it seemed and it kept escalating until he was hyperventilating quite badly. I finally managed to get my body to move and placed my hand on his arm. "Duo, stop, you need to breathe or you will pass out."

Just as I spoke his legs gave out and Wufei pulled Duo into his arms. I could see Duo trying to struggle, clearly not wanting anyone to touch him but Wufei held him firmly. Speaking in a soothing tone "Just take a deep breath and hold it, calm down you will hurt yourself, angel." It didn't work and Duo squeaked out a small "I can't" between the shallow and fast breaths.

Wufei remained calm and continued "Yes you can, now just hold your breath for as long as you can and calm down." Duo finally seemed to be able to slow his breathing but I could hear the end of his calmer breaths breaking off in sobs and high pitched whines. He suddenly curled up against Wufei, like he was trying to crawl under Chang's skin in desperation. I could see tears trickling out of his eyes as the sobs became a little more insistent.

It seemed so intimate the way Wufei held Duo and Duo clung to him like his lifeline. I couldn't watch, but I also couldn't bring myself to leave. When Duo's cries seemed to calm I turned to see Wufei stroking his back and side gently. "Duo, I need you to listen to me. I am going to explain everything but I need you to wait until I am finished and just stay calm, alright?"

Duo didn't make a noise or move but after a few moments Wufei and I both assumed that was the best we would get in the form of consent. So Wufei continued. "You do not have to come to my pack with me Duo. It is your decision if you want to go or not the pact was made between Odin and I, Heero just had to deal with the remnants. I saw how Odin treated you, how the others ignored you, I just figured you would be happier with me. I wanted to take you to a place you deserved to be, where you weren't treated like an outcast, where someone cared about you. Heero and I have been arguing over Odin's terms and he was quite adamant not to include you in the negotiations until tonight, when he conceded that he would accept it but only if you wanted to leave with me, and I agreed. We both just want for you to choose what will make you happy. Even if you do not wish to leave this pack you will always be welcome to my home lands and my pack later on. Do not feel that you have to end your friendship with me if you refuse".

I used my hoarse voice to give a similar speech. " I just want you to choose what you want, what will make you happiest. You will always be my... friend, even if you leave with Wufei and you can still come back at anytime. I just wanted you to have the option. We weren't going to force you into anything; it was all your choice. Do you understand?"

I could see his head nod slightly against Wufei's chest and felt like I could finally breathe again since he didn't appear to be angry anymore. Wufei started to run his hands along Duo's mane and I gave him a good glare for it, but he continued. "It is your decision to make, do you want to stay here, or do you want to go?"

We waited as time passed in complete silence, I could feel my muscles bunching in anticipation when Wufei whispered softly "He is asleep". I saw him rise and move to place Duo on the bed. I quickly cleared everything off from when he had been packing, tempted to lock it up as some sort of reassurance that Duo would stay. After Duo was settled in I picked up the fallen toy on the floor and put it on the bed next too him. It was still Duo's I would never take any of his things or make him leave anything behind.

I heard Chang take a deep breath, mixed with exhaustion and relief. " I am surprised he didn't just collapse sooner, its amazing he last that long after everything he has been through lately..."

I nodded silently and responded "It would surprise you how strong he really is, he doesn't believe it, but he really is very amazing." I could see Wufei hesitating for a moment before looking at me. "I will be back tomorrow to see if he has an answer yet, I cannot stay much longer without it being detrimental to my pack... if he... chooses me I will have to leave him here to recover a while longer and will return to bring him with me at a later date."

I met his eyes and gave a nod, as if conceding that Duo was welcome stay here until he was well, no matter who he ended up choosing. He left the dwelling to go to his own temporary den. I stared down at Duo, wondering what the morning would bring. I hesitated to go to my own bed, this could be Duo's last night as a member of my pack and I was going to be selfish. I gently moved his body over and crawled in next to him wrapping my arms around him and pulling him close. If he was going to leave I was going to take everything I could get now, even if it was slightly unfair to him, I needed just one night.

I spent half the night going over everything in my head. What would make him choose Chang, what would make him choose me? It seemed rather obvious by his outburst that he wanted to stay, or perhaps he just didn't want to be treated like an object. Wufei offered him something that was very tempting, a new pack where he was promised a better life than the one he had suffered here. If I was him I probably would have tied myself to Wufei to make sure he didn't leave me in this hell. I brushed my hand down his mane and watched him sleep; finally letting two words slip into the dark

"Please stay..."

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This is a little cliffhangerish, I will try and get the next chapter up ASAP as I have almost all of it done. I also added a silly little fic aside from this one if you guys want to read something more light-hearted to read after this.

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	13. Chapter 13

I couldn't sleep at all that night, I kept trying to picture my life if Duo left, and it was very bleak. When the sun started to dribble into the room I figured it wise to get up and out of the bed with Duo. I wasn't sure how he would react, especially how violently he had reacted the time I had called him beautiful, and last night he seemed pretty intent that he didn't want me touch him at all. I decided then to try and get as much work done as possible around the pack, and then I would come back and spend the rest of the day with Duo, waiting for his decision.

I ran the borders, and checked out stocks of food and herbs. We would need to go hunting soon, but everyone was on edge about going out. I wanted nothing more than to go back to Duo and hear his answer, but at the same time I was putting it off and dreading it. When I got as much done as possible and felt like I had put it off longer than necessary I finally returned. Duo was hovering over the counters, making some sort of breakfast for us. I think my heart stopped.

"Duo you shouldn't be out of bed, please I will handle breakfast, go sit in the chair."

I grabbed the large wooden spoon he had been using and ushered him to the nearest chair to sit down. He didn't protest too much but as I set him down I could hear his stomach grumbling quite loudly. I felt bad, he hadn't eaten last night because of the incident and it was already almost afternoon, he must have been starving, and got sick of waiting for me to show up and cook something. I could see him staring at the table, as if embarrassed.

I finished cooking the food and placed it on the table in front of him. He was eating in quiet, about half through the plate when Wufei came in. I bristled and let out a low growl when he burst in without knocking, but I tried my best to hide it from Duo. He didn't need to know how much we hated each other. Wufei pulled out a chair and sat down right next to Duo. The tension in the air was obvious, and Duo stopped eating. I decided to ease things up so it wouldn't feel so stressful on him.

"You.. don't have to give an answer now if you don't want. You can wait until you are fully healed if you wish. Wufei will have to return to his pack soon and you are not going to be up to that journey for some time, so if you choose to join his pack you will still have to wait some time. Don't feel pressured to come up with an answer immediately."

I know Wufei wouldn't be happy about having to wait for an answer and I wasn't overly enthusiastic about the idea either, but I didn't want to back Duo into a corner over this.

I heard the small clang as his fork dropped onto the plate and he let out a long sigh. "It's not that I don't have an answer yet, it's more that I don't know how to say it without hurting one of you. The last thing I want to do is hurt either of you and in this case I kind of have no choice."

He scratched at his arm nervously and swallowed before continuing. "Fei, you are... my best friend. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along. You made every day so much fun I was excited to wake up."

Oh no.. this was it, he was leaving, he was going with Wufei, I couldn't deny that the better man had won this time around. I don't know how I was going to handle Duo being around when I knew he wasn't staying. Before I got too lost in my spiral of depression I heard a word that sent out a life raft for me.

"But... this is my home Wufei, I can't leave my home. I belong here."

Wait, he was staying? I felt the room spinning as that bit of information sunk in. He was staying! I wanted to shout that I had won and shove it in Wufei's face but I knew better. Wufei has obviously been a much better friend to Duo and I didn't deserve to win, I needed to be humble.

Wufei definitely looked upset, but he stood up, doing his best to plaster a smile on his face. "I will stand by my word then; you are always welcome at my pack, at anytime Duo. This does not change my offer, and I hope you will always remain my close friend."

Wufei leaned down and gave Duo a hug... a long hug. I was ready to rip him off Duo when he finally let go, and his eyes looked suspiciously watery. He cleared his throat before speaking up to both of us. "I have enjoyed my time here very much, but I fear I must return to my own lands before my pack comes searching for me."

He bowed low, taking one last long glance at Duo before walking out the door. He would be back next year, when the promises of our pact would be exchanged, Duo, thankfully, not being one of those. I felt like I was soaring but Duo didn't look all that happy. "Duo, are you okay."

A fake smile flashed over his face "Oh yeah, I am fine Ro, I just... I think I really hurt him". Duo stood up, putting his plate on the counter silently, then returned to his bed to lie down. I took the cue for what it was; he wanted to be left alone.

I decided to finally break the silence just before it was time for dinner. Duo had not eaten too much of his lunch and he was probably still a little bit hungry. I expected to find him asleep, but his eyes were wide awake and he was staring at the wall. "Do you want some dinner?"

He blinked, like breaking out of a trance and looked over at me, his eyes filled with so many emotions. "Hey, Heero, do you... think I belong here?"

It didn't even take me a moment to think it over. "Of course you belong here Duo, you have always belonged here..."

I was wondering if he was reconsidering his decision to stay instead of leaving with Wufei. I heard him let out a long sigh and his gaze fixed on the floor. "When my fever was really bad I began seeing things. I am starting to think, that some of them are memories from before I came here. I saw faces, I think, that they might have been my parents. They were both white, like I am during the winter, with long coats. I remember what happened that day... well... mostly. I was playing in the snow; it was very deep I could barely keep my head above it. I was running around, I could barely see where I was going but it was so much fun jumping around in the stuff that was almost taller than me. I heard my mother shouting at me to stop after I had jumped. When I landed the snow kept falling and I went with it, I think I fell off a cliff of some sort... I thought I was going to die. There are some other fuzzy things, but I am pretty sure its not just feverish hallucinations."

This was the first time Duo had remembered anything new about his past. He had been here since the day we found him, and not remembered anything more than his name and someone calling him. "Duo, if you end up remembering everything, and decide you wish to return to your parents then that is your decision. I will not make you leave, even if you turn out to be a forest wolf, though it sounds like you are something completely different. You can stay here as long as you like."

He still seemed to be deeply in concentration, staring at the floor, but his usual smile finally broke through and he looked up at me, as if the last few moments had not even happened. "So, how about that dinner?"

I playfully rubbed the hair on the top of his head and headed into the kitchen. I heard him getting out of the bed and heard the chair scraping the floor as he sat down. He had really made amazing leaps and bounds in his recovery, he really had pushed it a lot at first, and I should probably be tying him to the bed for a while but I knew he was too stubborn and hyper to stay put. After the food was prepared and I set it down in front of him, a thought struck me. It seemed like with all my immediate concerns out of the way there was still that lingering issue.

"Hey Duo, how do you change into that human form?"

He looked up, his mouth half stuffed with food. I waited for him to chew and swallow before answering. "Well I don't know how to describe it exactly. I had to really think about it for a long time before it made any sense to me. It started out whenever I felt like I am completely safe, when I completely let my guard down and was not worried about being attacked."

It was an interesting confession, one that made a lot of sense. Our human-like form was probably our most vulnerable, no claws or a row of sharp teeth with a hinge like jaw. No thick coat to repel attacks, but it was excellent for disguise. As I sat chewing my food I began to wonder if I would be able to change as well, I can't ever remember letting my guard down that much. Wolves were taught to always be on guard, always be careful. It was instinct and it was hounded into us from birth. Well, at least that is how it was with my pack. Duo had not had parents to hound the instincts into him. My father, for the most part, ignored him, and my mother was not the kind to teach someone those sorts of things.

I think I spent the rest of dinner just testing my theories, trying to let down my guard. But it just didn't seem to be working. You couldn't force yourself to feel safe, especially when you were trying it was like trying to remember something in a panic, the panic keeps you from remembering anything but the fact that you forget. I had a headache by the time I heard Duo standing up and picking up his plate. He put the plate down onto the counter and quietly headed into his room. I think he picked up that I was concentrating on something else and didn't want to bother me, made me feel very bad since I was ignoring him. I finally set my plate on top of his and climbed into Odin's old bed for the night. Maybe tomorrow things would make sense.

I let out a long sigh, to try and release some stress and frustration, and closed my eyes. I am not sure when I actually fell asleep. But I woke to someone tugging on my arm. I saw a pair of eyes looking at me with a pleading quality and a voice whispered "Heero, I can't fall asleep, can I try and sleep in this bed with you?" It took the processors in my mind a moment to figure out what was going on, but once they turned enough times I nodded yes and lifted the blankets up so he could crawl in with me. I heard him make a small sigh that sounded suspiciously happy and felt him wiggle up against my chest. I threw my arm around him went back to sleep, my mind not processing much of the interaction.

I woke up the next morning feeling warm and calm. I had my arms wrapped around something, but I couldn't figure out what it was in my mind. I remembered going to sleep in Odin's bed, and there was nothing else in there with me. I dared to peek and eye open and saw a swell of chestnut hair and soft pale skin. It didn't take long for my mind to catch up now. I remembered Duo crawling into bed with me last night when he said he couldn't sleep. It looked like he had changed forms while asleep, and I let a small smile spill onto my face remembering how he had described his change. He obviously felt safe.

I took a deep breath to get my body going and rubbed my own hand up and down Duo's arm. That was when I realized my hand was naked... so to speak. I sat up quickly, staring down at bare arms, hands and chest. The color was darker than Duo's white skin, and it didn't feel as soft, but it was definitely human. I ran my hands over my face, feeling the new features there, and found I had short hair and could just barely see the dark brown color. Then I thought... maybe I should have asked Duo how to change back as well.

I wouldn't have to wait long I could see him starting to move around and his eyes darting behind their lids. He let out a long yawn and patted the empty spot beside him looking for something. I gave into what instinct was telling me to do and I leaned over him, pressing my now human lips to his forehead. I pulled away before his eyes opened and he looked up at me in surprise. He sat up quickly and I leaned back against the wall as his face came closer and closer to mine. "Woah, Heero, your eyes are so gorgeous like this." I could sense him examining every little detail of my face and all I could do was stare at his lips, so close to mine. My body felt unnaturally warm, my blood pulsing in my ears. My mouth felt unexplainably dry and I thought I was going to burst into flames. I had to do something, anything. "Hey, uhh, Duo. How do I uhh... how do I change back?"

He backed away from me then and stopped to think. "Well the first time I changed I panicked badly after a few seconds and that shifted me back. After that happened a few times it was like I could pick up on how to change, much like with our half-forms if that makes sense."

It only partially did but I just nodded my ascent anyways. I felt something tugging at my hair and realized Duo was feeling my hair. "Wow, it's so soft". My face started to heat up again and my saving grace this time was Quatre bursting through the front door. But to be honest, I began to wonder if anyone understood how to properly use a door anymore. I growled but it somehow didn't come out as threatening in a human voice. His voice rang out in a high tone and I felt like stuffing a cloth in his mouth to mute some of the volume.

"I did it, I did it, I did it! Oh.. Looks like you did it too. Well that spoils some of my gloating but this is fantastic all the same!"

The looks on our faces probably told him enough of what he needed to know. "I changed into a human form! I managed to do it last night, I obviously have changed back since then but I did it! It's entirely possible, it's fantastic."

I heard the door open again and saw Trowa come in, as the dwelling started to fill up I began to feel nervous, especially in this vulnerable form, I could feel my body shifting back to normal and Duo gave a little clap. "Well there you go, problem solved, you are back to normal Heero."

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It's a very short chapter but this was really the best and only place to stop before it hits a heavy spot that really needs to be its own chapter. I figured since it was so short I would throw it up here pretty quickly after my last update. Had someone ask if this was still on-going and yes it I have no clue how many chapters this story will end up being, but I do know I still have more things to do before the end. The story status will be updated to complete when the final chapter is posted =)!

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	14. Chapter 14

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**PLEASE READ THIS- IT'S IMPORTANT!**

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Okay I had someone leave an anonymous review saying they were confused about how wolves can hug etc. Please note in the first chapter and others following it, this is explained a bit more in detail. There are three forms, the full wolf form, the half-form which is an anthro form (so if you Google Image wolf anthro that should give you an idea), and the third being the human. They were able to hug, cook, and do other things in their half-form prior to getting their human forms. I did remove the review because I was worried it might confuse other readers, and for that reason I will encourage people to leave huge questions like that without signing in first so I can remove them if need be, but please leave an account name or something in the review itself that I can use to contact you on. That way I can answer the question directly as well as here and have more of a guarantee the reader will see it.

I tried to make this section stand out more so anyone who is still confused about the forms will hopefully read and clear up any questions or confusion. You can also pm me or email me if you have questions, those should both be in my profile. I am more than happy to answer questions, I just need a way to answer them. I am not upset about the review, just worried that it seems some people are still confused about the forms and I hope this clears it up and that people are reading these little excerpts I put up here.

With that out of the way this next chapter has a lot going on and I hope you all enjoy it! It's got an undertone of humor but t I tried to keep it serious.

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**PLEASE READ THIS- IT'S IMPORTANT!**

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We weren't quite sure how to introduce the pack to this new element of our species. But we started by letting little rumors leak here and there. Most of them seemed to be accepting, and even excited about the rumors. As the rumors grew we continued to test our ability to change, Quatre and I could change about as easily as Duo could now, and Trowa had finally figured it out but his was much more sporadic. Even Harris had tried a few times, and managed to change once, but had been unsuccessful since then.

Duo had been sleeping in my bed with me again, like when we were young. At first it had just been him coming every other night claiming he couldn't sleep, and then it was every night, I finally just told him one morning after waking up, we would share a bed so he wouldn't wake me up in the middle of the night. He beamed one of his gorgeous smiles at me and hugged me. I had shifted into human form in the night and when he embraced me I could feel my cheeks heating up, but it was worth it.

We spent most of our times at home in human form now, it was like practice almost. Though we ended up partially covering up our bodies since about being completely exposed in human skin was just too much for us to handle and be comfortable. Quatre had sewn us human he made us large billowy shirts and pants that stopped just above our knees. Some of us had seen humans before and for those who hadn't we knew what they wore from looking in books.

When it seemed like the pack was accepting enough of the idea of a human form, I revealed my own to them. To my advantage it seemed to impress them that I had "mastered" such a transformation so to speak. I made mention that Duo had discovered it but most of them were too intent on figuring out the change themselves, to care.

Time had rolled around and it was spring again, the warm weather making our new forms quite pleasant. More and more wolves figured out the transformation and were using this new human like body to their advantage as well. Our scent never changed when we did so it was always easy to identify someone in human form, even if we had never seen that form before.

As spring grew on I noticed how truly breathtaking Duo was in any form, but his human one in particular. Something about it made my heart pound in my chest and my breath stop. Unfortunately I wasn't the only one who noticed. Most of the betas had taken notice. Some of them did nothing but admire his beauty, but were already interested in others, a few however, were more intent in their pursuit. Gabriel was clearly trying to woo Duo, despite the fact that he had often sneered at Duo when they were pups. He wasn't alone; Myler and Reese had both been offering Duo little gifts, even though Reese was a gamma, and therefore unlikely to be able to court and win Duo. Gammas could court each other, if they wished but it was not typical for two gammas to end up as lifemates. It was actually getting hard to track all the youths who were flirting with Duo. I did my best to keep them at bay, giving little glares and looks of warning, but when I wasn't around they were all over him, and I couldn't be around all the time. I was the temporary pack leader.

Gabriel seemed to have other plans though, as spring drew on I noticed how big he had grown and how seemingly strong he was. Just prior to the middle of spring was when the challenges typically took place. It was tradition, usually, when a pack leader was close to death or no longer capable of leading he would step down in the spring and allow any betas to fight to be potential pack leader. Usually it was just the younger betas as most of the older ones were well established in their positions and not as strong as the youths. In a few days that time was going to start. I was hoping not to have too many challengers. Most of the beta youths seemed disinterested at best. But I could tell a few were considering it, changing their minds as the time came close.

I figured Gabriel probably had his mind set on it, and I wasn't going to back down that easily. Pack leader got first pick of mate during the courting season. Two days after the fights ended all the wolves would start courting, and the alpha could court whoever they wanted without any other wolves attempting to court the same gamma. I knew Gabriel had his eye set on Duo and whoever won would have a great advantage. Duo could refuse if he wanted, but no one else could court Duo while the alpha did or make any offers to Duo during that time. I intended to be that alpha. Initial courting lasted three days and then at that point the wolf being courted could refuse and be courted again by others, who were refused, overall it typically lasted about a week before everyone ended up having their new life mate.

I grew tense as the time drew near. I had been hinting at Duo as well, giving him gifts every so often, giving him lots of compliments, trying to spend as much time with him as possible. I was trying to ensure that even if Gabriel won I would still have a chance that he would be refused and I could court Duo in the second round.

The morning that the fights were to start I woke up in human form, with my arms wrapped around Duo while he slept. I leaned down and kissed his forehead gently, as I had done the first time I woke up like this. It was still early, but I was anxious and so I rose to make breakfast. We ate breakfast together in a calm silence but I finally broke it. "So will you be watching the fights today?"

He shook his head, not looking into my eyes. "I think I have seen enough fighting to last me the rest of my life... Harris... has offered me the position of his assistant. I have been going to his clinic to help out every time you have to run boundaries or go on a hunt with the other betas."

I swallowed my bite before responding "That is fantastic Duo! I didn't realize you were so interested in healing."

He let out a long breath of relief that he had been holding in. He used to have a lot of issues with self worth, and feeling he had to prove his strength. Perhaps he had been worried I would not approve of a healer life style. Still it showed good progress that he had chosen the lifestyle despite his worry of people's disapproval and had been brave enough to tell me, he was making leaps and bounds in gaining his own confidence.

We had little conversation beyond that, other than him wishing me luck and saying he hoped I won and that no one was hurt. After that I headed to the field where all the battles were carried out, to avoid destruction or damage.

I didn't arrive first; a few wolves were already there. I saw Gabriel and felt my hair rising on the back of my neck. I shifted into my half form almost unwillingly. I definitely did not feel safe in human form when he was around. I would have to fight in my half form anyways, it was our most powerful and useful form for fighting, and he was already in his dark grey half-form. More and more arrived as the time drew near. I didn't have to fight all of them; many were just here to watch, others were considering challenging, but undecided.

Quatre arrived to play referee for the matches. He was a gamma and was not capable of fighting to be an alpha. "Are there any challengers?" His angelic voice rang out clear over the opening. Typically what happened was a pair of challengers stepped forward and would fight. In this case I had already been volunteered as the first member of that pair. Any others who stepped forward would be paired off with others and eventually all winners faced off until there was only one left. Sometimes the fights could last the whole week sometimes they were completed in a few short hours.

Unsurprisingly, Gabriel stepped forward, his chest puffed up and a large grin in his eyes. Quatre stepped back off the battle field to allow us both onto it. Typically anyone considered a threat was killed. So any rivals were killed, allies or friends facing off usually allowed the loser to live. My father had been so controversial in that he allowed all his opponents, friends and rivals, to live as long as they made a loyalty pact to him. With Noventa this had backfired, quite badly. But Gabriel was very loyal to the pack and aside from his desire for Duo he was not a rival, and I didn't want to have to face Duo if I killed him. Duo considered just about everyone his friend, he didn't seem to realize that many of the wolves were trying to win him over.

We both stood facing each other, waiting for Quatre to give the signal. He stood on the sidelines, raising one arm up in the air for all to see, if they could not hear. "You may now begin!" his shout echoed over all the little mumblings and shifting, and his arm came back down to his side. Gabriel launched right into the battle. He leapt, teeth bared, going for my throat. I jerked backwards, throwing up my arm to protect my neck and I felt his teeth latch onto it. I suddenly sprung forward, pushing with my arms and body to throw his whole body flat onto the ground. There was a large thud and it was clear he had struck his head on the impact. We both stood and he tried to leap at me again but instead fell to the side and his eyes rolled back. It looked like he had passed out.

Everyone on the sidelines gasped, and Quatre moved forward to check him out. He announced he had just unconscious and would probably be fine as long as someone kept an eye on him. After waiting until the count of thirty, I was declared the winner.

I think it was the swiftness of me taking out Gabriel, the one favored to beat me if anyone could, that scared all the others. When Quatre asked if anyone else wanted to challenge, no one dared to step forward. The field started to clear and just as someone went to life Gabriel he seemed to start waking up, saying he felt a little dizzy. They lifted him to take him to the clinic and I just stayed put in the middle of the field as he was carried off. I couldn't believe it was over so quickly, eventually I felt something trickling down my arm and looked to see that Gabriel had ripped some of the skin with his teeth. I smiled to myself, knowing exactly where I was going.

I think Quatre congratulated me as the winner, but I wasn't paying attention, I had a mission in mind. I carefully opened the door to the clinic, trying not to drip blood on the floor by cradling my arm. I saw Duo and Harris standing over Gabriel asking him how many fingers they were holding up. When the door shut behind me Duo turned and saw me and my bloody arm. Harris waved him off and he grabbed some bandages and came over to me, that small happy grin on his beautiful face as always. He told me to sit on one of the beds and I did.

He pulled up a chair next to the bed and pulled my arm out. "Can you change into your human form? It's easier to clean and get a good look at these without all this hair." I chuckled and had to concentrate for a few minutes before I could shift. It was hard to come down off the pumping adrenaline in my veins. He examined my arm, flushing out the wounds a few times before he started to wrap it. "Well it's nothing too bad, though he did get a good bite in. Although I dare say I think you got him just a little bit better. He is going to be seeing double for at least a whole day, but he should be fine."

He stood up, gathering everything he had brought over into one place. "I will clean it again tonight and remind me to check it every night and morning so no infection sets in. Bacteria from the mouth are the most dangerous."

He placed all the wrappings and liquids back into place before coming back over. "That should be it for now... but ... one more thing" I felt him wrap his arms around my neck and hug me tight. I could do nothing but sit there and inhale his intoxicating scent as he whispered in my ear. "I am glad you are safe."

He pulled away and his eyes looked a little moist, it must have been very stressful on him to know I could have died had any of the wolves challenged me, won, and decided to kill me. With that he turned and walked back over to Harris, to see what he could do to help Gabriel. I had a huge grin on my face as I walked out of there.

Trowa and Quatre were both waiting outside to congratulate me and I thanked them both, but I think I freaked them out with my huge, goofy grin. In two days, I could court Duo, and there would be no interference from Gabriel. He could still flirt with Duo and hint he was interested, but any courtship rituals his family had were off limits and he could not offer to Duo until I had been refused.

For the next two days I started planning everything out, most courtship rituals were passed from mother to child when courtship began. They would tell the story of how they had been won over, unfortunately with both Mother and Odin dead I had no stories and had to make my own plans of what to do. I had planned to spend every minute I could with Duo. Luckily I had managed to convince Quatre to help me. I had him start working on some new clothes for Duo, and because of the time he spent in the clinic he knew how to identify most of the plants. If Duo wanted to work in the clinic I would find him some of his own herbs and plants. Quatre hang them out to dry at his house so Duo wouldn't catch on. Everything was going to be perfect.

The night before courting started Duo crawled into bed with me and curled up, I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him against me, praying that he would accept me when I proposed to him. We fell asleep a few minutes later, but were awoken just before dawn by the sound of howls. Fearing that we were under attack I bolted out of the bed, shouting at Duo to stay inside and shutting the door firmly behind me.

I ran out into the street, seeing others emerging from their homes to join me. Looking to where I heard the noise I saw golden wolves running towards us. I noticed Zechs was leading the pack. What on earth was going on?

He approached me with a weary look on his face. "I am sorry to come at such an awkward time Heero, but it seemed... suitable to begin negotiations at this point." I saw him glance back at a wolf in his pack awkwardly. It was a pissed off looking wolf and it took me a moment to notice it was Relena. She didn't look all that happy about having to be up and travelling at such an inconvenient hour.

I told them to go to the public dwelling to sleep until everyone was properly rested. Zechs hung back as his guards and Relena vanished. "I am truly very sorry for this Heero. Treize is pregnant with pups and Relena and Treize do not get along. She has been fighting with him about everything it's making him stressed out and sick. I had to give him a break and I couldn't very well bring him along. They just couldn't take being in the same house any longer."

I nodded then hesitated as a thought struck me "Shouldn't Relena be in her mate's house?" He stopped and looked at the ground as if partially ashamed. I heard a loud and long breath escape his mouth before he spoke what was swirling in his mind. "Relena, unfortunately, does not have a mate. She was courted by many suitable bachelors but politely declined them. She is quite... adamant about marrying an alpha. Poor Wufei practically ran from our pack after his encounter with her."

I could just picture her doing that, but right something didn't add up. "But Relena is a delta, why is she going after alphas?" He gave me a surprised look then responded "Oh, that's right, your pack does not allow a Delta and Alpha to pair because of the status and such. Our pack has no such laws; neither does Wufei's, or many others."

Well that made sense then, our pack really did have some very strange laws. But right now all I cared about was crawling back into bed with Duo. I nodded to him and saw him head towards the public dwelling as I headed back to my own home. Duo was sitting on the bed a look of worry in his eyes. I smiled, trying to ease his anxiety. "Zechs and his sister are here to pay a visit and start negotiations, nothing is wrong."

He smiled, but it looked worried, and moved over to let me lay against the wall as I had done since that first night he asked to sleep with me because he had troubles. I wrapped my arms around him and smiled before it faded as I realized Zechs presence was going to throw a wrench into my plans. That was the last thing I remembered before drifting off.

The next morning I was late to rise and woke to find Duo hovering over me "Good morning sleepy". Oh shoot, I overslept; I had planned to make Duo a nice breakfast this morning and to wake him up once it was all prepared. Well those plans just got blown to hell. But hopefully I could still salvage some of it. "Good morning, do you want some breakfast."

He smiled and nodded enthusiastically and as I started to sit up I heard a loud knock at the door. I almost groaned in frustration but Duo was already up, pulling on some trousers and a shirt to answer it in his human form. He pulled the door open just after I had pulled on my own clothes and it was none other than Zechs. Giving us both the biggest wide-eyes sheep look I had ever scene. "What ... are you?"

I realized he was talking about our human forms and Duo ushered him in, and began explaining. I offered Zechs breakfast, to be polite and the damn bastard accepted. I felt like tossing him out and telling him to leave us alone until further notice, but I didn't think that would go over well when negotiations took place later. So instead I just bit my tongue and began making us all some eggs.

We ate while Duo talked animatedly about his new form, how it was discovered. Zechs smiled and was clearly endeared by his antics; Duo won everyone over quite easily. I found myself counting the minutes until I could kick Zechs out without seeming rude. I wasn't paying complete attention so when Duo rose from his seat, placed his plate on the counter and said "Okay, I will see you both later then." I had to pause and replay the last few sentences in my head.

Duo had said some joke, Zechs laughed then said "Duo, thank you for the wonderful stories, I hate to impose but do you mind Heero and I discussing a few things alone?" I think Duo said "No problem" and then got up. Darn it! He was not the one I wanted to leave. I turned to glare at Zechs when there was another knock on the door. I rose to answer it and saw Quatre standing there with the clothing I asked him to make wrapped up in his arms. "Hey, Heero, I noticed Duo heading out so I figured this would be a good time to pass these off to you to give to him." I nodded, and took the clothes from him. Walking quickly to our wooden chest in the other room and placing them on top of the stack of clothes before closing the lid.

Zechs had cleared both of our plates from the table and was waiting patiently for me. We went over the basic terms, I was trying to get whatever I could done to satisfy him so I could head out and find Duo, but it seemed like it dragged on forever. Finally he announced he was leaving to go to the public dwelling for lunch and a short rest and I almost howled in victory. Until I realized it was already time for lunch... Oh well this could still work to my advantage, I would find Duo and we could have lunch together.

I went to the chest in the other room, pulling the wrappings from around the new clothes and examined them, finding myself quite happy with how they turned out. I set them on under some of the clothes this time, to hide them until tonight when I would give them to Duo.

I headed towards the door only to see it open and admit Relena before I could get too it. "Oh, I am glad you are still here, Heero, I was worried I had missed you." I let out a long sigh, trying to come up with excuses in my head to get her out or that I could use to leave without offending her. But nothing was immediately jumping up and so she continued her intrusion. "I have something fantastic to show you! I think you will be so proud of me, I am so clever, I figured it out quite quickly." I saw her looking around outside for a second and then shutting the door. I couldn't figure out what she was babbling about but after the door was firmly shut I saw her take a deep breath and she started to shift, her golden hair vanishing from everywhere but her head, her snout turning into a nose. She had figured out how to shift into human form and she was completely... naked. Because our human forms were so vulnerable being without clothing with another around was almost intimate as it showed deep implicit trust that no harm would be done. I felt violated in a way having her unclothed and was quick to remedy that situation.

"Relena please, put on some clothing."

She gave a puzzled look "Clothing? Oh! Do you mean the stuff humans wear? I don't have any, and I can't figure out how to change back quickly yet, sorry." I felt my frustration growing and decided to take the quickest, easiest out. "There are some clothes in the chest in the other room please put some on." She nodded sweetly and walked with her posture upright, her head held high into the other room. I had to think quickly, had to find someway to get rid of her. When she came back in I was still staring at the table trying to figure out how to get rid of her when I felt my stomach protesting the lack of food and said what came to mind. "I am sorry, Relena, but I have to go now, I am late for lunch and would like to eat before negotiations come up again."

Her face lit up "Oh, how about we have lunch together then, as I have not eaten either. If you will wait here a few minutes I will go grab some herbs I brought from home, I think you will like them. There was a knock before she made it to the door and I looked up to see who was disturbing me now. My eyes almost fell from their sockets as I noticed that Relena had not just gone into my chest to find clothes she had raided it! Those were the clothes I had made for Duo, and she was wearing them! What was even worse was that it seemed Duo was the one who knocked. Trust him to be the only polite one in the village. He seemed surprised to see her here, and in human form but before he could speak she did a little spin, showing off her body. "Look, Duo, isn't it fabulous, I figured it out very quickly, I suppose it just runs in the family to be so clever. Oh and don't you love these clothes? Heero gave them to me."

Wait, what!? Gave them to her? No, I just wanted her to cover herself. But how did you undo this now 'No Relena those clothes are for Duo please take them off and give them back. Oh and by the way Duo this is your gift, never mind that Relena already wore them.' Ugh all that time spent gone to waste, fine, Relena could keep them I would just have to convince Quatre to make me something new and quick. Though, that did not look promising as he was probably out being courted by Trowa.

Duo looked a bit confused and unsure of himself. This was not the time for someone to be so overly imposing on him. Then it hit me, if Zechs could impose himself on my breakfast with Duo, then I would impose Duo on this 'lunch' with Relena. "Ah, Duo, I was just about to go look for you. Would you like to join us for lunch?"

Relena froze at the comment, her eyes growing larger, like she was ready to rip into me. Duo noticed it as well and hesitated. "Uhm, well, are you sure?" I nodded, probably a bit more enthusiastically than was called for, and that seemed to be a decent amount of assurance for him. He sat down with me as Relena seemed to reconsider her offer of getting herbs. "On second thought, I will just make something simple so I don't have to disturb Zechs while I am getting the herbs."

Whatever, she could play cook and I would ignore her and hopefully, after she left, I would get some time with Duo... alone! She had barely pulled out anything, having to constantly ask where everything was, when there was a knock. That was my last nerve, I was going to throw Relena out, and then put bricks over the door so no one else could come in or knock and interrupt. I ripped the door open with a growl and saw a half-frightened golden guard. He could barely get out his message when he saw my look of rage. "Uh-uhm that is, Lord Zech's has finished his meal and wishes your presence to work further on negotiations. He wishes to use the public dwelling this time." Damn Zechs! The man had horrible timing. I looked back and saw Duo's look of disappointment.

I heard a small crash as Relena dropped a pan and then picked it back up. "Well that is unfortunate, Heero, I suppose I shall have to prepare you a meal some other time. But since you will be occupied, I will take Duo and he can show me around. I am sure some things have changed since I was last here."

Duo seemed resigned to his fate and nodded slowly. I knew they didn't get along, well I knew Relena was horrible to him. When she had been here last time she avoided him like the plague and acted like every move he made was to 'steal her innocence', as she put it to the other pack members.

She continued to put things away and I approached Duo, giving him a hug and whispering "I am sorry about all of this, how about we have dinner together, with no one else to make up for it?" That seemed to cheer him up a little bit, but no one could expect him to be happy with the task of having to spend a lot of his day with Relena hovering over his head.

I followed the guard to the public dwelling and soon found out why it took so very long for my father to finish negotiations with Zechs, he was very long winded and argumentative. I don't know how long I had been in there, there were no direct windows but I know it had been a long time. Finally Zechs seemed to be satisfied for the day and said he was going to eat.

I ran out of there as quickly as possible but was horrified when I realized how very late it was. Everyone was already in their dwellings, with all the candles and other forms of light extinguished, probably asleep. Darn it! I had promised to have dinner with Duo. I ran home as quickly as I could, and there was still some light shimmering from inside, perhaps he was still awake? I opened the door cautiously and saw two plates of food sitting on the table and Duo asleep on the bed. I really messed up this time.

I took the plates and quietly tossed the stone cold food. I drew the furs up around Duo and blew out the candle burning on the table. I crawled over Duo to get to my side of the bed and he woke up "Heero? Is that you?" I brushed a hand through his bangs and smiled "Yeah, its me, sorry I missed dinner." He yawned widely and sat up, I hadn't meant to wake him "It's alright, you have important things to do." I saw him yawning again and moving to get out of the bed. "Duo, what are you doing?" He was halfway out of the bed already and it took a minute for his mind to process my question. "Oh, uhm I was going to make you some food, you have not eaten since breakfast." My stomach reminded me that I had not had lunch or dinner, but Duo looked very tired so I just waved it off. "I am too tired to eat; I will have a big breakfast tomorrow, lets just go to bed."

He hesitated for a moment but I gently took his arm and pulled him back down onto the bed. I was asleep before he had completely lain down but subconsciously I could tell he was having trouble. I could feel him shift and it pulled at my unconscious nature but did not wake me. I wasn't sure if he ever got back to sleep or not . I must have been exhausted as well because instead of waking up on my own, as I usually do I woke to the smell of something cooking. I took a deep breath; it smelled odd, not like something Duo usually made. I stretched my arm and felt around the bed and sure enough Duo was not there. I got up, scratching the back of my head, noting I woke up in my half-wolf form today, but thought nothing of it. I looked over at the kitchen, expecting to find Duo cooking something, only to freeze in shock as the sight I took in was Relena.

I must have made some noise because she turned to look at me. "Oh, I am glad you are awake!" I made you some lunch; you slept half the day away. I began to wonder if this was some sort of nightmare. "Where is Duo?" Relena smiled a bit too cheerily. "Oh, he came to check on you earlier but I told him I was taking care of you and making the two of us lunch. I think he went off to occupy himself." I pinched myself, nope, I was awake. "What are you doing in my house, Relena? While I was asleep, no less" Whatever she was making was starting to burn, I could smell it, but apparently she couldn't as she left it on. "Oh, I promised to make you lunch yesterday, remember?" I vaguely remembered her saying something about, some other time, but had I known she intended to break into my house, I would have declined very firmly.

She finally pulled the food out of the pan, although it was already burned, and put it onto two plates. I got up and noticed some food in the bin, that didn't look so burned, but it wasn't what I had tossed the night before. "How much food have you been making Relena?" She gave me a clueless look before I pointed to the trash and it seemed to make sense to her. "Oh, I didn't make that, I think Duo left it for you, but it was cold when I got here so I tossed it." How thoughtful of her, I would rather just reheat Duo's food and eat that, then have to eat her burned food that smelled odd. It didn't necessarily smell bad, but the herbs were different and it was made so differently I did not find it appealing. She placed the two plates down and my stomach demanded I needed to eat something.

I managed to get half through what was on the plate when my stomach said it was satisfied and threatened to remove any more of this concoction by force if I continued. I set my fork down and rose "I have things to do, goodbye Relena." I was careful not to thank her or compliment the food, but I didn't want to anger or offend her, as I still had to do negotiations with Zechs, and he was over protective of his younger sister.

I walked swiftly out the door, trying to keep her from coming up with an excuse to keep me there. Now the only thing to do was find Duo. I searched for his scent in the town but he wasn't there. So I headed into the bordering forests and found nothing, time was wasting away while I searched. I checked the clinic again just to make sure and then went to the field and it was empty as well. The sun was getting ready to set by the time I made it to the river and found his lingering scent, but he was gone. With a growl of frustration I followed the smell, hoping it would lead me to Duo. I made it home just after dark and opened the door to the wonderful smell of the food I knew.

I saw a plate on the table with some food on it, and it was the most beautiful thing I had seen all day. I closed the door and then winced as I noticed Duo asleep in the bed. But the door shutting didn't seem to wake him at all. I sat down and ate the food, it was probably the most wonderful meal I ever had, most likely because I had been so hungry, and the last thing I ate was the half-burned herb overload Relena made earlier.

As I set my plate down on the counter, I noticed Duo hadn't even twitched at any of the noise I made. He must have really been worn out, and I wasn't that far behind him. I let out a long sigh and started putting out all the lights. I thought about crawling into bed with Duo, and then thought better of it, normally the smallest noise woke him, and so for him to sleep through everything just showed how completely exhausted he was. The noise may not have woken him, but me crawling in surely would, and remembering how he had reacted when I woke him last night I didn't want to disturb his sleep again. I wasn't even sure he ever got back to sleep last night anyways. I went into the extra room and used the spare bed for the night. Tomorrow was technically the last day for initial courting; hopefully I would wake up before him and get some of my plans carried out.

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Yeah, LOOONG chapter. I decided to stop there only because it was getting huge, I actually had more I was going to add but decided to split it instead. This is good news for you guys as it means this chapter is going up faster while I write up the next.

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	15. Chapter 15

The smell of food woke me up, yet again, but this time it didn't smell funny, it smelled like Duo's cooking. I could almost let out a victory howl that he had not left yet. I had planned to wake before him and make breakfast, but as long as he was still around this was good. I came out of the room and smiled as I saw him standing there with the pan, cooking food for both of us, as he always did. I cleared my throat. "Good morning, Duo." He gave on of his half-grins and responded with a good morning. We managed to eat breakfast without being disturbed and we were able to talk and have some peace. I gave him the package of herbs I had collected and he was delighted about it. We had just gathered a few things to go to the river and swim when I heard a knock on the door. Today was the last day and I had it firmly set in my mind that anything else could wait. Hopefully Zechs wouldn't be too upset about this. I had been tiptoeing around Zech's trying to put off negotiations without angering him, alliances were some of the most important resources a pack leader had, and I couldn't afford to lose one by angering him with nonchalance or delay.

I opened the door to the one thing I feared, Zechs. He had an elegant smile on his human features, almost everyone that came in Zech's group had learned to turn into human form and much like my own pack, and they found it was very useful. It was far less bulky than a half-form and much more convenient than a wolf form. His honey toned voice had a cheery lilt too it as he spoke "Ah, Heero, just the wolf I was looking for. I was going to request you come and join us for breakfast, so we could continue negotiations."

I knew my excuse wouldn't be perfect but it might work. "I am sorry, I must decline, Zechs, I already had breakfast and have other plans." I could see his face fall and his voice grew low. "Do not be rude. I could not find you all day yesterday and I am making your life convenient by coming here instead of the reverse as it usually is. It's true my mate needed a break but its nearing the end of spring and Treize is due in a few days. The journey here took much longer than I expected and I will not leave Treize to give birth alone. I need to leave soon, today, to be specific."

I could feel my hair rising, convenient to me? He had been nothing but an inconvenience, him and his horrid sister. It wasn't my fault he couldn't control her but now he was taking it out on us! I lifted my lip in a snarl and only stopped from shouting when I heard Duo say something. "Please go with them, Heero, this is very important. I am sure they need to get home to Treize soon, and Treize risked his life to help us. I know it's not me who has to go do negotiations, but I would hate for him to give birth without his mate."

I felt myself calm at his words, I agreed to go with Zechs, but only partially because I felt like I owed Treize, it was mostly because Duo had asked me to go. I made sure to ask Duo where he was going before I left, I intended to make these negotiations as short and fast as possible, and then I would get back to Duo. He said he planned to spend most of his time at the river and that he might visit the clinic if he got bored. I went with Zechs to the public dwelling, they planned to eat and I hoped that with food in his mouth Zechs would keep his talks short. I was surprised when I sat at the table to find Relena there. It was not uncommon to have guards around during negotiations but having others present was not usually acceptable. She smiled at me and chatted sweetly while the two of them ate. Even for a long time after the food was gone they continued their light conversations, I felt time slipping away and it was making me anxious. I felt like I was trying to plug up an hour glass with just my hands. Finally I had enough; I didn't come to have a tea party, breakfast had ended a long time ago and now it was just outrageously inconvenient for this to carry on. "As nice as all of this is, I came here for negotiations, so I will have to ask you to please leave, Relena."

Zechs smiled and placed his fork down. "Actually, there is a very good reason that Relena is here, Heero, and it does involve the negotiations." Zechs motioned gracefully to Relena to explain. "Last night, I expressed an interest to my brother, in joining your pack and I am offering myself as part of the gifts for negotiations. I wanted to inform you of this decision on my own, so you would know I gave my full consent and with that I will leave the two of you to your work."

She rose and left the room and Zechs looked back at me smugly. "I cannot say that I am in any way upset by her offer. I think it is clear Relena has taken a deep interest in you and I would be happy to offer her to this pack as a gift, needing nothing in return. I love my little sister, very much, but Treize does not get along with her, despite his best efforts, I think she would be quite happy here, which is all I want."

Admittedly, I did not see this one coming, and it took me a while of staring in shock before I could respond. Zechs was basically telling me that if I wanted his sister she was mine. "As generous as that offer is, Zechs, I must decline. I fear Relena does not get along with members of my pack either and I do not appreciate your attempts to dump her on me. On top of all of that she is a delta and we could never be mates because of it."

His hairs raised and he let out a loud growl "Dump her on you!? I love my sister with all of my heart, and perhaps she is a little spoiled but that is my own fault. I would never dump her anywhere I just want what is best for her! Also, what should it matter if she is a delta? Your pack has been breaking all sorts of traditions, you in particular when you took Duo in. When we came here the first time your interest in her was quite clear, and over the last few days you have been courting her. I am not sure where all of this has come from?"

I tried to keep myself calm but was not able to hold it all completely in check. "I am sorry if I have offended you. But you must realize that you need to do something about her behavior. She is attacking your mate and the fact that she is still allowed to live in your house after doing so astounds me. You are allowing her to get everything she wants and you allow her to lash out at your mate without consequence, while he is pregnant no less! But it's your job as her brother to stop her for the sake of your mate. I was not in any way courting Relena; I don't know where this idea has come from. The last time she was here it was like a pheromone bath, everyone was drawn to her, and I was young and overwhelmed. But I can assure you I have no interest in her."

He seemed to have settled a lot and his voice wavered as he spoke "You are right then, I suppose, I was trying to dump her on you. Relena is such a hard person for me to say no to. Mother died in labor with Relena and father was so depressed he followed her soon after. I raised her, she was all I had and I spoiled her, never said no, and gave her everything she wanted. When I became pack leader she was the center of attention for the whole pack, despite her flaws she is very beautiful and elegant and the pack fell in love with her. When Treize came in though, a lot of that attention vanished. I feel horrible every time she goes after Treize, but I can't bring myself to stop her and I am ashamed. He tolerates her silliness with more patience than anyone else I have ever met and sometimes she will attack him just because he won't react to her child-like antics. But it started wearing him out and making him sick, the when the doctor ordered him on bed rest because he collapsed from the stress I knew I had to do something. I knew she wanted an alpha as a mate and I remembered your interest in her I was hoping you would still want her, without the pheromones, and my problems would be solved with everyone happy."

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his obviously frazzled nerves, I couldn't tell if he was going to break down and cry or shout and start throwing things, but instead he continued his speech. "But you did woo her; you gave her gifts, invited her to meals and dined with her. I did not imagine that."

I couldn't figure out what he meant at first and then everything seemed to make sense. "No, I gave her nothing; she intruded on my house and shifted into human form. I told her she could use some of my clothes to cover herself, since she said she had trouble shifting back. But she ended up taking the clothes I had made as a gift for the one I planned to court. She offered to make me lunch, and I tried to refuse, but it didn't work out and the next day I woke up after she broke into my house while I was sleeping! I in no way tried to lead her on, it was all in her head."

He nodded and let out a sigh. "As sad as this is, that sounds like her. She pulled very similar tricks when Wufei came to our pack, and I was hoping after her experiences with him that she would have changed and wouldn't do those things again."

I took the initiative at that point "With all these dramatics aside, I am sorry about Treize but you brought this on yourself, and you have interrupted my courting, to be more specific, you destroyed my courting time. I do hope you make it back to Treize before he gives birth, and with that in mind I am going to offer a basic treaty. No gifts on either side, no extra promises, or allegiances than the basic peace treaty. You may have some time to think this over, and come up with any new terms you think are necessary. Right now, however, I will take my leave; I have a lot of courting to do to make up for the last two days."

I rose up to leave the dwelling and was halfway to the door when his voice stopped me. "Hold on, Heero, I will make this quick. I accept your offer and with that I will consider all negotiations finished. I will gather my things and we will hopefully leave before night falls. I am eager to return home. I fear I may have to finally be firm with Relena. I will let her know that if she attacks Treize again she will be removed from our dwelling." I nodded and left the dwelling, hopefully this was the end of the interruptions for the day.

I rushed to the river, hoping Duo would still be there and I spent a large amount of time going along the banks, checking all his regular swimming spots but found nothing. He was probably at the clinic. If I had been wise I would have checked there first before coming here. I went back to the village and found Harris cleaning up the clinic and preparing to leave, the sun was starting to set. "Oh, hello, Heero, how can I help you?"

I was polite and returned his hello, looking around for Duo. I felt very rushed, all the time wasted while Zechs and Relena chatted away, arguing with him afterwards and then searching the river for Duo, the day was almost gone. I started formulating plans in my head for tonight. I would ask Duo to please let me court him for the next three days. It would be like telling him I wished to be his mate without out right asking him. Tonight was supposed to be the night to ask but since I had missed the days of courting I decided to spend the next three days doing that, but I was so sick of chasing tails for the last two days I just wanted Duo to know for sure. Had I known that Zech's arrival would have heralded all of this time away from Duo, I would have told Duo on that first day what my intentions were. But I felt like I was in a dream, that no matter how fast I ran I could never catch up. I had these almost elaborate plans for what the last two days should have been, but now I was reduced to just telling Duo instead of the traditional methods. It was a bit selfish and maybe a little underhanded but with all the other betas running around that were infatuated with Duo, I wasn't going to take chances.

I noticed that Duo was not in the clinic and spoke up. "Did Duo come here today? Do you happen to know where he is?" He placed a few things in some cabinets as he replied "Yes, he came by earlier and helped out a little bit. Seemed a bit down, but I think the clinic work cheered him some, like it always does. He probably went home already, with all the courting and confessing going on tonight there are not many places you can go without disturbing someone."

I said a quick thank you and began the short trek home. Home was the perfect place of peace and quiet away from others. But when I got there and found it empty, I began to panic. There was no sign Duo had come here after the clinic. There were no lights and nothing was disturbed. I began thinking of all the places he could be, he hadn't gone back to the river I would have run into him. The other places were likely to be filled with wolves courting and confessing and Duo didn't like leaving the village after dark. So he had to be somewhere in the village.

I slammed the door shut behind me, as I stalked off to go find him. His scent was all over the place but I followed it to the new den Trowa had dug out. When courting season happened, if a wolf was still with their parents they made new dwellings or took old, empty ones from where other wolves passed away. A few new homes had to be created each season, to accommodate our growing pack. Trowa had dug into a hill, much like my home. It was a nice place, and Duo's scent was strong when I got there. I knocked on the door and a disheveled looking Trowa answered with an angry looking face. I couldn't help but think roundabout was fair play because of all the disturbing that had happened to me, but it didn't seem completely right, since Trowa hadn't been the one constantly bursting into my house. "Sorry to bother you, I am sure you and Quatre are busy, but, have you seen Duo?"

I saw Quatre peek around the door; he was in human form, just like Trowa and was holding a sheet over his body. "Yes, Duo stopped by a little while ago, but when he saw me here he said he was sorry for bugging us and left. He seemed really down, but I saw him heading towards your house, so I figured he was going home."

I nodded, and apologized again for disturbing them. I tried to follow his scent but the trail was all around the village like he had been walking everywhere. I was about to check home again when I heard a rather annoying voice calling me. "Heero, can I speak with you."

I took a second to reply, to make sure I didn't rip of Zech's head. "Right now is not a good time Zechs." His response was fast, "Do not worry, this will be quick. We are going to leave tonight to journey as far as we can. Relena is quite unhappy about it, but at this point I am so eager to return to Treize she can sulk for all I care. I wanted to apologize, for forcing myself and Relena on you. I am sure you will pass my apologies along to Duo as well, and tell him I said he will make you a wonderful mate. I was mistaken to ruin your courting time with him."

He turned to leave but I asked him one more question "Have you seen Duo, by any chance?" He shook his head no before leaving. I scoured the streets and public buildings, finding only his scent floating in the air. I was desperate now, and decided to check my home one more time. It was still empty; I made sure to check the spare room and the bed to see if maybe he was already asleep, but found the entire place empty. I began my new mission then; I started wherever I could find Duo's scent and knocked on every door in the vicinity. I really upset a few wolves, with my intrusions but they were lucky I didn't howl and call them all to search. If it weren't the final night of initial courting I probably already would have, Duo was missing.

I made it to the other end of town when I finally noticed something odd. I was walking by Noventa's old dwelling and I picked up Duo's scent near the entrance. I never thought he would go near the place again, but his scent was there. I slowly pushed the door open, and found that someone had visited the place. Everything had been picked up, broken objects in a pile to be tossed; anything not broken had been put away. There was a form huddled under a pile of furs on the bed. This whole place made me jumpy, the memories, the still present smell of Noventa, but there was a pleasant undertone as well, Duo's scent. I pulled the blankets and found the pure white hair of Duo's half-form beneath it, shaking slightly. It was cold in here, but not cold enough to be shaking under several furs. Several furs that smelled like Noventa, he must be terrified- so why was he here?

"Duo, I have been looking everywhere for you, why didn't you come home?" He opened one of his eyes and peeked at me from the corner of it. "I didn't want to bother you and Relena, I figured you would want to have tonight alone, since she is going to be your mate."

"Duo, don't be ridiculous, Relena just left with Zechs." He gave me a stunned and sad look; did everyone think I was courting Relena? A lot of it seemed ridiculous I mean if anyone had bothered to really look at the actions they would realize how out of character it all was, and how unlikely it all was as well. "Duo, I never asked for her to be my mate and I had no intention of asking her to be my mate, ever. I know it may have looked odd the last few days but I was not courting her at all. I didn't give her the clothes and I didn't want to dine with her."

I ran my fingers over the soft fur of his cheek, I felt slightly angry now and my tone sounded like I was scolding him. "Just a few incidents with Relena and you think you have to move out, and are intruding on my happiness?"

His tone got pleading then "But it wasn't those things Heero, while they were happening I thought nothing of them. I was fine until Relena said..." He trailed off, not finishing the sentence, but I was not letting it go that easily "When Relena said what?" It took a minute before he took a deep breath. "When I was coming back from the river, I ran into Relena. She said that she was going to be gifted to the pack, to be more specific, she was going to be your mate. The look on her face was so happy and sure, I thought it was already settled. I didn't see a reason for her to lie either, there was nothing she could have gained from the lie in telling me. She said tonight she would be staying at your place and that she would appreciate if I could ... go somewhere else."

"I guess at that point maybe some of it was in my head because, and I thought about how much you liked her when she came here the first time. It wasn't completely irrational! I figured I would stay with Quatre and Trowa but they were... busy and this was the only place left, I didn't want to come here it was just going to be temporary I was going to try and go to Wufei's clan within the next few days."

I think I couldn't move because I was so shocked at how sure Relena had been and that she had the nerve to tell Duo to leave his own home. I think what brought me back from my own mind was Duo's hand shaking as he reached out to touch me. This place had to be terrifying him. The scent of Noventa everywhere was probably wreaking havoc on his mind. I pulled him up from the bed and wrapped an arm around his waist. There was a little shout from him, probably in surprise. "We are going home, and you will not be coming back here, ever, am I clear?" He nodded weakly as I pulled him out of Noventa's, slamming the door behind me. Maybe I could get away with burning the place down, I don't think anyone in the pack wanted to move into the old dwelling of a pack traitor.

I pulled open the door to our house and it seemed so empty and lonely, once we had some light things felt much better. Duo was sitting on the bed, his head downcast looking awkward. "Do you want some dinner?" I asked, but he looked up and shook his head no. It was past time for everyone to be asleep, he was probably tired. "Why don't you shift into your human form if you can, it's much more comfortable to share a bed when there is more room for both of us." Another head movement without an answer, but it still took him a minute to shift. When I looked back to him his skin looked paler than snow and there were heavy dark circles ringed under his eyes. Now that his eyes were larger I could see the red veins dominating the white, he looked like hell.

I shifted into human form and wrapped my hand around his. "Duo, have you been crying? How much sleep did you get last night?" He scratched the back of his head and gave me a sheepish look. "I didn't get much sleep after you got home night before last, and I was so tired so I went to bed early last night, but I woke up a little later and you were asleep in the other room. I didn't want to bother you, I figured negotiations had exhausted you and you didn't want me waking you up on accident. I... had another one of those dreams that are more like a memory, and I couldn't get back to sleep. I was trying to get some rest in Noventa's but I kept catching _his_ scent and I could barely handle closing both of my eyes." I quickly put out all the lights I had lit and pushed him over so he was the one against the wall. As soon as I was on the bed I pulled him against me and nuzzled into his neck, taking a deep breath of his sweet smell. I felt overwhelmed by his scent and my tongue slipped out to lick his collarbone. I felt him tense up again "Heero?"

"I had it made for you" the words slipped out, and couldn't resist gently nibbling on the crook of his neck. He gasped and started to shift underneath me. "Had what made for me?" I smiled and gave one last lick to his neck. "The outfit Relena took. I had it made for you, but she came over naked, in human form, I told her to put on clothes and she put that on and kept it. It would have looked much better on you though."

I pushed myself up to lean over him and got another good look at his tired eyes and decided to stop my explorations. Instead I just gently pressed our lips together and then pulled him on top of me, resting his head in the junction of my neck and shoulder. "I intended to court you these last few days, but I was stopped by evil forces. Had I known Zechs and Relena would take up all my time, I would have told you from the start, and asked you to wait. But I felt like I was trying to stop an hourglass with my bare hands, time kept slipping by and I couldn't keep up with it, every time it seemed like I caught a break the world conspired against me. I barely got to see you at all, and when I finally got some time this morning I was going to tell you, but Zechs interrupted. I didn't even want to go with him, and was going to argue with Zech's to the bitter end about letting me stay, until you told me to go. It seems wrong to ask you to be my mate now, since I didn't actually court you. But will you promise to be mine?"

I looked over and saw him grinning tiredly, and he nodded his head. I couldn't help but return the smile and I kissed his forehead before closing my eyes to sleep, rubbing my hand along his back hoping to lull him to sleep. He was so tired and I probably should have waited until morning, but starting tomorrow was the second set, and I didn't want to chance anything. A few seconds later I heard him mumble "Bastard, how am I going to sleep now." I couldn't help it, I laughed.

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So this would have been part of the last chapter, this is about 9 pages in word, and the last one was about 12 so it would have been a total of 21 pages in word, which would have been one massive chapter probably 4-5 times bigger than all my other chapters.

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	16. Chapter 16

Things move fast in this chapter, but I had such a hard time even writing it, I figure its better than nothing. I realize its been forever since I updated. I pretty much finished this story and have more chapters saved up I just don't know how often I will upload. Things have been pretty much insane this past year and I lost some very good friends and family of mine so I kind of put stories on the backburner. I am hoping this year will be better…

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It seemed like for the first time in forever I woke up with Duo exactly where I wanted him to be. He hadn't moved an inch in the night, his head still tucked away into my neck and his body lying over my chest. His chest rose and fell softly and the warmth of his body kept me from needing to pull the blankets over us. It seemed as if he was in a deep sleep and I was content to just lay there and let him remain so. Well, about as content as a starving person who was told he could only look at the food and not touch it.

I gave in, and started to play with the long strands of beautiful brown hair as temptation slowly worked its way up. My hand found its way to the smooth skin of his back and my fingers drew pictures on the alabaster canvas. I heard him murmur in his sleep, shifting and sliding up to escape the touch, probably imaging it to be his hair or the blankets tickling him. Now my face lingered near his neck, perfect. I started to nibble just below his jaw, alternating to kisses as I reached his vulnerable neck. My hands slid up along his ribs, ghosting over the powder soft skin beneath them. I heard him groan and saw his eyelids flutter, he was waking up. I gently nibbled on the juncture of his shoulder and neck and then licked the slightly reddened skin.

His eyes were open now, a bit clouded but getting clearer with every second. I could feel his chest rise with the large intake of breath from a yawn. When his mouth was closed again I took the chance and leaned in, pressing my mouth over his, nibbling on his lip gently. I felt quite satisfied when I saw the smile on his face and he nuzzled my cheek, kissing just below my ear. That earned a small growl from me, the game was starting now.

I rolled over, leaning over him as excitement and heat started to flow in my veins. I felt intoxicated, completely enraptured. When Relena's pheromones had overwhelmed me her first time here, I thought that was desire, but that paled in comparison to what was overcoming me now, and there were no pheromones this time. Everything was stirring inside me as my hands roamed over Duo's body, my dazed state only heightened with every small noise he made in response. I felt his hands on my body, his lips on my skin, setting my whole being on fire. I was so lost in this unbearable pleasure that I almost did not hear the knock on the door. I let out a long groan of frustration, as I let my body lay on top of Duo's, my breath struggling to come back to normal.

Quatre peaked in; this was probably revenge for my interruption last night. "Hello? I came to check if you found Duo or not." I let out a low growling "yes". But that didn't seem to startle him. "Well, good, I figured I would come see him and make you both some breakfast after your long night of searching." To be honest it sounded like a horrible idea, in reality I just wanted him to leave but he waltzed in anyway. He seemed to conveniently ignore Duo and I curled up together panting when he told Duo good morning.

He stopped after a second "oh, Duo, would you be a dear and go get me some more wood for this stove? I am afraid there isn't enough." When Duo rose and shifted into his half form I groaned and grabbed onto his wrist "No, you are staying put." He smiled, batting at my hand gently "I am starving, and want food, so I am going to get the wood."

When the door shut behind him Quatre turned to me with a serious look. "Sorry to have interrupted your courting dance, but I want to know what the hell has been going on, especially last night. Did Duo run away because of the things with Relena? Speaking of which why did you give that nice outfit I made for _Duo_ to Relena?"

Well he didn't tiptoe around anything "Uhm, Duo was in Noventa's old dwelling, he didn't run because of the accidents with Relena, it was Relena telling him she was going to be my mate and would appreciate if he left. The clothes got taken by her in a bit of a huge messy misunderstanding. Sorry about all your work going to nothing."

The look on his face was clearly one of shock "She told him to leave!? I knew I disliked her for a reason. I mean I know he has issues with feeling unwanted, oh gods that had to be horrible for him" I nodded solemnly "He was a bit shaken up over it, to be honest. I was very worried, but I think he is much better now. I would be much better if we just got left alone and uninterrupted for at least a few hours."

He got a smug look on his face, the bastard. "Well you honestly didn't expect me to wait and find out if Duo came home, did you? Either way I will make breakfast, as I said, especially since I sent Duo to get the wood and he seems rather adamant about being fed. Then I will leave you alone and try and make sure the others do not bug you as well." I growled anyway, I didn't want his damn food, but Duo did so I would suffer through.

As soon as the last bite of food was gone I practically shoved Quatre out the door and dumped the dishes on the counter, they could spend some time rotting I had more important things to do. I grabbed Duo around the waist pulling him against me as I fell on the bed. He had changed back to his human form after the door shut behind Quatre. His laughter echoed in the room and I felt overwhelmed with joy at the sound of it. I closed my eyes and just soaked in the beautiful sound. After a few moments I felt his lips pressed lightly on mine. "What are you doing, Heero?" I gave a small smile and opened my eyes "I am thanking the gods for my luck in getting you."

He rolled his eyes like I had said something ridiculous. His body shifted as he lay on top of me and I felt my skin catch on fire again, the desire rolling through my body, and this time there would be no interruptions. Our hands explored, whimpers and moans filling the air as desire overcame us. Time seemed to slow to an alarmingly pace as everything else was blocked out. Everything was lost as we danced around each others bodies, getting lost in the final dance of courtship and it seemed like the pleasure was endless.

We lay next to each other panting, and slightly exhausted, Duo snuggled up against me, his eyelids drifting shut with a large grin dominating his face. I traced my fingers over the mark on his neck that I had made and smiled. As I wrapped my arms around him, my own eyelids drifting closed I couldn't help but think that this was perfection.

But perfection couldn't last forever. It was the best spring of my life but as time drew on things started to go wrong. In spring the gammas and deltas were fertile, it was the breeding season. The reason being if we bred during the spring the pups would be born early the next year before spring but during the downwind of winter. This gave the pups a long time to grow before a full hard winter hit. All around us I could see gammas and deltas full of joy at their pregnancies. Quatre was ecstatic; Reese and Gabriel were content together and would have their own pup. But no matter how hard we tried, Duo still didn't seem to take. It was stressing him out, which Harris warned would only make everything harder, so he tried to calm down but I could see his worry in his eyes every now and then.

I don't think it helped that all around everyone was telling stories of morning sickness and other pregnancy woes, or discussing names, and the colors they hoped their pups would be. It just seemed to depress Duo to hear the things but he kept up a good façade, joining in the conversations as best he could. Spring passed and we agreed to be patient and hope his symptoms would start popping up, perhaps he had just conceived very late in the spring. We stopped all intercourse for most of the summer; worried that it might cause problems for any pups that were there, but when nothing changed we returned to sleeping together. But as the middle of fall drew near we accepted he would not be having a pup this year. He cried the entire night when we both finally accepted it, and I just rubbed his back and told him it would be alright. But the next morning showed that it wouldn't.

Harris came to see us both. Duo felt a bit on edge and exhausted, I wasn't much better. He sat down at our table with a grim look and his tone was somber when he spoke. "I am sorry, but I fear that we must now resort to a surrogate, as the pack leader its part of your duties to produce one heir to your legacy. Whether or not that pup takes over the pack later is irrelevant, but we can't have a barren pack leader. We must bring in a surrogate from another pack to make sure it is not you, but Duo."

"They will come as soon as possible for you to be acquainted enough before the next breeding season. Once the season comes you will... bed them... until a pup is conceived, they will remain in our care until the pup is born and the pup will then be transferred to you and Duo and will be raised as your own. The surrogate will return to their own pack after the pup has been nursed. All of this is a safety precaution, the desire to return to their own pack helps surrogates let go of the pups, however, during this time, Duo must be elsewhere. Due to pack laws and the history of fights between surrogates and mates, the mate must be sent away until the pups are born to the surrogate."

I heard Duo whimper a no of disbelief and I wrapped my arms around him tightly.

I knew the reasoning and purpose behind all of this. The pack leader was the strongest and most protected wolf in the pack, but if they couldn't reproduce it was impossible for them to be a leader. The leader was the best chance and expectation for the pack to live on in case something happened, and if they couldn't reproduce it was all for naught. But I still couldn't allow this "I won't accept this Harris, we will try again next year for a pup and after that I will consider it, but Duo will not leave."

Harris looked at me sadly "I am afraid that is not possible, Heero. If a wolf does not conceive during a viable mating season, when they are attempting to conceive, then they are barren. There have been almost no known exceptions to this. You must do this, just as your father did." Duo was softly sobbing in my arms, I could only imagine what it did to him to hear he would never have children, and on top of that he had to be sent away from me. But Harris' last words caught my attention. "What do you mean, as my father did?"

He gave me a surprised look and let out a small sigh "Well I suppose they never told you, and I probably wasn't supposed to tell you. Your mother, or rather, the wolf you knew as your mother, was unable to conceive. She was sent away while your father took a surrogate from the cave clan. Because they are your relatives we obviously cannot select a surrogate from them."

Everything seemed to just fade into the distance, my mother wasn't my mother. I couldn't believe it. Was that why my father could never really accept me? Because when he looked at me he just saw that other wolf instead of my mother, whom he loved with all his heart. It certainly seemed to make a lot of things clearer, while also making everything else so disturbingly muddled.

Duo was huddled against me, his broken voice telling me he didn't want to leave. I tightened my arms around him and spoke up "Duo will stay here as long as possible; the surrogate will come after he has left."

Harris sighed "We cannot wait much longer, I am afraid, the winter will make travel hard, and he should leave before it becomes too bleak out there. The same consideration must be given to the surrogate. Although you may have no desire to become deeply acquainted with them, they will be giving you a child, and deserve the right to feel comfortable while doing so. Tomorrow I will start the inquiry for a surrogate in the other packs, I am afraid you will not have much more time with Duo this year. As soon as we have chosen one Duo must leave, it will likely be in the next few days, since the snow will start coming soon and we need to think of the time for Duo to get there, and his escorts to return."

Soon after our conversations Harris left. Duo was just exhausted from all the crying the night before and the bad news, he just went directly to bed and slept. Quatre came over, the news was spreading fast. He tried to comfort Duo but I think he ended up doing more harm than good, since Quatre was going to have a pup and Duo had nothing, and had basically been told he never would. I managed to shovel off all the leader duties onto other wolves, many of which were sympathetic of Duo's situation and would do anything to cheer him up. I held Duo for the rest of the day, as he alternated between sleeping, crying and just staring. It was almost dark out when he finally spoke. "I don't want to leave..."

I kissed his cheek gently and nuzzled at his neck. "I don't want you to leave either, but it's only until the pup is born. You could go and visit Wufei, I think that would give you something to do, to go and see your friend. He shrugged, obviously not excited about the idea, but there was probably very little that would really cheer him up right now. I started planning out sending Duo to Wufei. Wufei may have been my rival in Duo's affection, but he was an honorable man, and Duo was already my mate, I felt confident he wouldn't try anything. Wufei's pack also seemed very accepting based on how he was raised; I knew that would be the best place for him during all of this. I had not even started to contemplate who would be the surrogate, I didn't much care. The only thing on my mind was Duo and how I was going to take care of him without being there with him.

Over the next day or so I spent as much time with Duo as possible and he started to become irresistible to me. I wasn't sure how I was going to survive this separation, when I could barely stand leaving him alone to do leader duties. I wanted to spend every second with him, with his attention on me and no one else. Admittedly, I was getting very possessive, every time I thought of Chang touching him my hair rose. There was a constant battle of telling myself that Wufei was the best option and Duo would be happiest there.

Finally word came back from all the packs we had sent messengers too. Unfortunately since I was related to Wufei we couldn't choose from his pack, as surrogates are often left anonymous in family trees and records, so we really had nothing to track down who my real mother was, or who my relatives were. So our other best option was Zech's pack, and he said he had a surrogate available who was willing and would be arriving in a day or so. This was to give us enough time to see Duo off. The timing was perfect actually, snow had started to fall and the journey to Wufei's would be hard enough without the drifts. That night Harris explained, in depth, the surrogate process. When he finished he finally told me who the surrogate was to be.... Relena. I think I burst a blood vessel yelling at him that I would not do it. He had a lot of patience I will give him that. Not once did he lose his cool while explaining that this was our only option, as the other packs all the other messengers returned stating they had no surrogates, and Zech's only option was Relena. The messenger who we had sent to that pack was Trowa, and Harris called him in to talk to me.

Duo was silent through the whole thing, staring at the wall over our bed, swallowing a lump in his throat every so often. This was a nightmare, first he had been told he could have no pup, and then he was told he had to leave, and now that Relena would bare my child, the child he would have to raise. Was this how my father felt about me? I began to wonder if I could treat this pup fairly, as it deserved, despite the fact that Relena was its mother. Trowa was the messenger to Zech's pack and he took the time to explain that although he had not spent any time with Relena herself, Zechs was adamant she had changed and matured, that she was actually a very calm and sweet wolf now. Treize had agreed that her attitude had taken a very sharp turn and that he thought she was improving. Zechs had apparently kept well on his word to kick her out, and he had when she went after Treize shortly after their return. That began the improvement of her temperament.

It didn't matter to me how much she had changed, it didn't alter the past, and what she had done to Duo. Her thoughtless selfish attitude had nearly driven my mate away from me and she had not ever apologized. I did not want to believe she had changed, even if she had. There was no desire to spend time with her or get to know her so she would feel comfortable bearing my pups. But this torture was my only option.

I made sure to set down some quick ground rules with Harris; she would not be staying in my house. For a moment I was glad Noventa's dwelling still stood, she would be staying there. I would in no way woo or try and court her, just be friendly to make her feel comfortable and accepted. She would bed with me until she conceived and no longer, and we would only do so in the dwelling she would be staying in. There was no way I was going to let her in my home or sleep with her in the bed meant for Duo and I. He assured me that many of those terms were normal for surrogacy and that he would do his best to relay the rest to Relena when she got here.

That left only one thing, Duo's departure. Trowa had promised to take Duo personally, and Gabriel also volunteered to escort him. I sent had also assigned two other betas to go with him. It was probably a bit excessive, but I was not going to take chances with Duo and the pack seemed to support my decision. Duo and I spent every second together. He came with me on patrol, despite my dislike and protest of it. The last night neither of us slept wrapped up in each other but that harsh overbearing thought of what tomorrow meant always lingered. When the sunlight broke through the window a few tears escaped Duo's eyes. I wiped them away and pressed my lips to his forehead, speaking in a shaky voice. "It's not forever Duo, just until Relena has the pups, just about a year and a half." He nodded wordlessly and snuggled into my chest. I rubbed his back gently waiting for the sound I knew would come.

It sounded like the fall of a hammer when the knock on our door came. Duo flinched and tried to burrow himself closer to me, and I held him for a moment before rising to answer it. Gabriel stood outside with a sad look on his face, I knew why he was here, and he didn't have to speak. I nodded and turned to Duo. I walked out the door with him, to the edge of the village where it seemed like half the town had gathered to see Duo off. Quatre had a package wrapped in his arms and he handed it over to Duo. "To replace the ones Relena took." He pulled away the brown paper and saw a deep red shirt and black leggings. They weren't like the ones Relena had taken but they were still beautiful. He thanked Quatre, giving him a hug.

He looked back to me and I wrapped my arms around him, not wanting to let go, because I knew what would happen then. I heard Trowa clear his throat, and reluctantly released my partner. He would be back; it was only a year and a half, one long torturous year and a half. Trowa gave a parting kiss to Quatre and we all watched as they disappeared onto the horizon. A year and a half, I kept telling myself.

We all lingered in the spot for long after we could see them, but the crowd slowly started to dissipate, leaving just me, Quatre and Reese. Reese placed his hand on my shoulder "Come on fearless leader, we have to get Noventa's dwelling ready for Relena, she is due to arrive soon." I nodded blankly and my body followed him to Noventa's but my mind was still stuck in that spot where I had last touched my mate. I was not ready for Relena to be here yet.

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Okay so that's it for this chapter, next chapter switches to Duo's POV for a bit since it's going to be focusing on him at Wufei's pack. I don't like shifting perspectives often but this time its much easier and less confusing to shift to Duo for one (or more) chapters.

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	17. Chapter 17

DUO POV!!!

I think I left my heart back in that spot where Heero last embraced me. I was running with the pack members but my mind was elsewhere. Snow covered about half the ground and I felt a little bit guilty, thinking of what the others would face coming back from Wufei's. It wouldn't be impossible but I imagine it would be a burden to them and quite the endeavor. I picked up my pace, perhaps we could hurry there and they would have an easier time getting back. According to everything I had heard, it would be about a week's journey to the cave clan, and a week back for the others.

That night we all practically collapsed onto the ground, perhaps I had pushed it a bit hard, but a little tired now would be fine if we got there faster. I had a hard time getting to sleep on the cold ground with no Heero to comfort me, but I finally managed to let sleep overcome me, as the fire sparked in front of me. We rose a little later the next morning, pulling out our food from the sacks we had packed. Normally wolves would hunt on expeditions like this, but considerations had been taken for the time and weather, and it was determined best to bring already packed food, though the high salt made it unpleasant to eat.

It seemed like everyday turned into a drone of the same thing, and every night it took me longer and longer to get to sleep. Trowa kept giving me concerned looks and Gabriel took to hovering but I told them both I was just emotionally upset and would be fine with a good bed and some time. When we reached the cave clan I felt dead on my feet. I saw five figures waiting at the entrance to the cave, all in human form. I smiled, feeling a slight bit more comfortable already. I could tell Wufei by his scent and the guards around him were the same as had come to our clan. They all smiled and embraced me with delight. Trowa, Gabriel and the other two guards were going to stay the night with the clan to recuperate and make sure I would be safe here. We had arrived two days early but Wufei's scouts had let him know we were early.

I will say the cave clan certainly knows how to welcome guests. They had a large dinner made for us after we arrived, and the smell of real food not overloaded with salt overwhelmed me. I ate more than I should but I found once I took a bite of it that I was starving. Reese, Trowa and I were so exhausted we tried to go on the tour but I was falling asleep on my feet. We were shown and out cove that was to be my room during my stay, and there was a woman seated on my bed. Her hair was raven black like Wufei's, her eyes golden and slanted and as soon as she saw me she rose and embraced me with glee.

I was a bit confused but Wufei's eyes shown with happiness at the site. He spoke in a soothing tone "Duo, allow me to introduce my mate, Meiran." I smiled at how enraptured he sounded when he said her name. I was glad he found someone to make him as happy as Heero made me, and I returned her embrace enthusiastically. "It's my pleasure to meet you Meiran." She pulled back and swatted her hand at the air. "Nonsense, the pleasure is all mine. I have heard all sorts of things about you and could not wait for your arrival." Wufei took this time to excuse himself, going to fetch some more furs for my bed.

She continued her story. "I could not wait to meet the wolf who first captured that stubborn idiot's heart. When he came back from your clan the first time he spoke of nothing but you, I feel like I know you myself." I looked a bit confused "Weren't you.. Jealous?" I had to admit I liked her already, but I had to wonder how she could handle it. Her voice was soft when she spoke "You cannot help who you fall in love with. I loved Wufei and he loved you, I could not hate him for that. We do not control who we love, and from his description, I found you perfectly worthy of him. He owed me nothing merely because I loved him; it seems a bit unfair to impose responsibility on someone else for our own feelings. Love is a gift, a precious gift that deserves no resentment or hatred." Now I really liked her. She continued in a wistful tone "When he came back the second time, he was crestfallen that you had chosen to stay, but I did my best then, to show him how much I cared, and he came to love me just as he did you. He is an honorable man and would never be unfair or cruel to me, and from what I hear you are much too gentle of a soul to be spiteful for anything, so I feel as if we are relatives, almost siblings you could say."

Wufei returned with the furs, a nervous look on his face and I decided to ease his obvious worries. "Well Wufei I suggest you watch your mate carefully or I may just kidnap her and take her home with me." He let out a small barking laugh then pulled me into a hug. "I was so worried how you two would get along. She... she will be having my pup this spring." I smiled to reassure him "I think she is amazing, I am sure we will get along excellently, and I can't wait to see the pup." His hand patted my back and he nodded with small tears of relief in his eyes. "Well I am sure you are exhausted, we will leave you to rest. Would you like me to wake you tomorrow when the others are leaving?" I nodded my ascent, I wanted to say goodbye to my guardians.

I crawled into the cold bed, and although it was much more comfortable than solid ground, it still felt empty, and I am slightly embarrassed to say I cried myself to sleep. I woke to someone shaking my shoulder, my mind muddled and my eyes blurry "Heero? What?" It took me a moment to see clear enough to realize it was Wufei and apologize for calling him Heero. Instead of berating me he embraced me and rubbed my back comfortingly. "It's alright, don't worry about it. The others are ready to leave, I waited as long as I could to wake you but its time to say goodbye."

I crawled out of the bed my legs and back stiff and sore from the journey yesterday, we had really pushed our limits and it felt like every bone in my body was ready to break. I did my best to cover up the soreness from the others, not wanting to make things worse than they already were. I said my goodbyes to Gabriel and Trowa and thanked the other two betas who had escorted me. Trowa ruffled my hair and told me to stay out of trouble and Gabriel seconded his statement. I laughed to hide the fact that I felt ready to cry as they loped away.

I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and saw Wufei standing next to me "Let's get you back to bed, you look about ready to collapse, you shouldn't have pushed yourself so hard yesterday." I felt a red color seeping under my cheeks, embarrassed that I had been caught, despite my best efforts to cover the signs of my sore body. He guided me back to bed were Meiran was waiting to tuck me in, and the next time I woke it was to a very worried looking face of Meiran.

"Oh thank the gods you are awake, you have been sleeping for three days straight Duo. I was worried out of my mind, Wufei has been pacing for the last few hours, and we have both been discussing waking you. We wanted you to sleep as much as you felt necessary, but on the second day we started feeling anxious."

I sat up in the bed, the room spinning slightly as I did and Meiran helped me get my bearings back. "You shouldn't get up so fast, you have been laying flat for a long period of time all the blood will rush to your head and make everything spin." I nodded slowly as everything finally stilled. I still felt a little sore but it was more of an ache now than anything. Meiran pressed a hand to my forehead and let out a sigh when she felt no excess heat. "Now that you are awake, why don't we get you some food?" I felt my stomach practically fly out of my throat at the sound of that word, I was starving.

I saw her rise and leave the room to get me something to eat and it was just a few moments after her exit that Wufei came in. "I see you are finally going to join us... please don't do that again you had us all very frightened." His tone had started out joking but turned much more serious and slightly scared sounding. I nodded and tried to speak through a scratchy voice "I am fine, only tired, all that pushing to get here sooner took its toll, and I had a hard time sleeping on the ground. I am just exhausted, don't worry about it."

Over the next two weeks I continued to recover from the excursion. I was tired a lot, sleeping as much as I could, the soreness took a long time to vanish, and the dizzy spells came and went, probably because of my constant napping. It was the third week that things seemed to stabilize. I was finally able to walk around without feeling like I wanted a nap and Meiran gave me a full tour of the caves. We were in what they called, a snowed in period. Winters here were much more dangerous than the ones back home, the snow would get so thick and the temperature so cold it could kill even the strongest of wolves. Sometimes the entrance snowed over and the pack was trapped, or snow from farther up would tumble down in avalanches and seal off the hole. Which was why they raised some of their own foods. Despite all the cold outside the inside felt warm, and Meiran explained it was the insulation of all the wolves and fur that kept the heat trapped inside.

They had a different lifestyle than us, they all shared one kitchen and usually ate together if their schedules allowed. I sat on a low stool as Meiran pulled out some wood and meat to begin cooking. She pulled down dried herbs that had been hanging along the stone walls and I waited patiently as she chopped everything up. As soon as the herbs hit the pan though, I had to hold back a gag. I think she saw me struggling though, because she asked what was wrong. I tried my best to keep from tossing breakfast as I spoke. "I think the smell of those herbs is just too strong for me. It overwhelmed me."

I sat there patiently as she lifted a brow and looked at me funnily. She finally pulled the pan from the heat, carefully placing the food aside and starting a new pan, sans anything but meat. We ate and chatted and she seemed to be getting up the nerve to ask me something. It took about half the meal before she managed it. "Duo have you been... sick lately? I mean the herbs are not all that strong and I am worried you may be... ill."

I took a minute to think over the last few days, carefully considering a response in my head. "Aside from the herbs just now, no, I think maybe it was just some sort of personal reaction to them." She kept staring at me, her fork twirling around her plate but she seemed to accept it and went back to eating. I had felt a bit under the weather before coming here. Shortly after Harris told us what the plan was I had gotten so depressed it made me feel sick. But it settled a bit on the journey here.

Time seemed to be passing at a decent pace, I wanted to be back with Heero more than anything, but I finally had accepted I was stuck here. When I finally decided to embrace it for all it was worth I found I really enjoyed my stay here. Meiran was my constant companion, and the rest of the pack was very accepting and kind and I could not have asked for anything more, well, accept maybe some less delicious food. Aside from the one cooking incident with the herbs I found their food irresistible. Meiran ate constantly because of her pregnancy, and unfortunately, I joined her in indulging. My stomach was poking out and I figured it was time to cut back some. But every time the food was in front of me I just couldn't stop, and all day long I found myself snacking on things with her or feeling hungry. When I started eating the weird foods Meiran craved that made Wufei cringe I decided to ask if I could see their doctor. I obviously had lost control and needed some sort of diet. I think it may have been some underlying depression or separation anxiety that was causing my problems with food.

Meiran agreed to take me to the doctor, and after breakfast the next day we wandered in the caves to the doctors. He explained that emotions could very well be causing problems with my body and hunger, and suggested we take my measurements and work on a diet and exercise plan. I really didn't want to return to Heero looking like I did now.

He pulled the tape around my chest and I flinched back "Hey watch it, not so rough please." The look on his face was surprise but he nodded and moved onto the next section. When he was done he wrote everything down and motioned to have Meiran follow him to the next opening. I figured he was going to employ her in helping me out, probably giving her advice about how she could eat excess because of her pregnancy but that she would have to keep a leash on my habits.

I sat in the empty room, looking around at everything, before looking at my own body. My stomach had definitely gotten bigger, and it looked like my chest was growing now as well. It was good that I had finally come here before things got worse.

Meiran came back in with a smile on her face but there was no doctor behind her. "Well, what did he say?" She smirked and motioned for me to follow her "He is coming up with a new diet for you now. Why don't we go find Wufei and have some lunch?" I frowned at her and whined a bit "But having lunch with you is what got me stuck here in the first place." She let out a long laugh as we searched the caves for Wufei.

When we found him we all started to head to the dining area for food, but Wufei and Meiran hung back to talk in whispers. I figured she was probably telling him about the doctor's visit and the advice he had given her to keep my eating under control, so I didn't want to eaves drop and make them feel uncomfortable, they were helping me after all. I heard a loud gasp and turned around to see Wufei standing still as stone, a look mixed between shock and amusement on his face. Then I heard him say "Damn, this means you won the bet." I felt a bit upset then, I don't know where it came from, I was just overcome with anger. "You made a bet about me? I feel bad enough about this as it is without you two playing your games about my life!" My feet carried me away fast, and my voice had come out a bit louder than I intended it. I couldn't understand why I was so upset, just moments earlier I had been completely rational and accepting.

I sat on the stool in the kitchen desolately, waiting for Meiran and Wufei to come in. They both entered and I ducked my head. "I am sorry, about what I said... I don't know why I did that." They both smiled at each other knowingly and then Wufei took a seat next to me, patting my back and saying it was fine and all was forgiven. We joked and talked while Meiran cooked up some bird for us to eat, dishing it out onto three plates, two with more than the other. When she set one of the larger plates in front of me I frowned. "I think this is Wufei's plate Meiran, I am supposed to be the one getting smaller portions."

She waved her fork around happily "Nope that is yours, doctor's orders, its part of your new diet." I felt my eyebrow lifting in suspicion as I poked at the delicious smelling plate "I don't know where your doctor learned his techniques from, but where I come from usually the person on the diet eats less food, you know, to loose weight." Her voice was almost chirping as she replied "Well I don't know where you come from, but around here the pregnant people get to eat more."

I stabbed my food with the fork "Can you please not joke about that? It's kind of a sore spot for me." I felt Wufei lift my chin and I was looking in his eyes. "She wasn't joking, you are pregnant." At that point I blacked out. I came too at the sound of someone cursing "We should have waited until he was sitting down." Someone replied "He was sitting down you idiot!" and the first voice again "Well then we should have waited until he was lying down!"

I groaned and rubbed my head; the voices yelling were not helping the pain I felt. But at the sound of my groan the voices returned with more force "Duo, are you okay?" I nodded my head just to get the voice to shut up, but it didn't work. "You hit your head when you fell off the stool. We are taking you to see the doctor." It was then I realized my body was in motion, to be clear, that I was being carried. I squinted and looked around at the stone walls moving beside me. Suddenly my body was laid down onto a table and I saw the doctor hovering over me with a look of exasperation in his eyes, he let out a long sigh then turned to Meiran and Wufei and spoke. "This, dear Meiran, would be why I wanted to tell him." The pair looked a bit embarrassed, but I was still trying to make sense of what he wanted to tell me and why I had taken a head dive from a stool.

The doctor was back over me then "Well I figured we would get some tests going to be sure Duo, but I doubt there was any mistake." Tests, what tests? My mind was catching up then, telling me things I wasn't sure I could handle. I felt my eyes growing wide and the doctor grabbed my hand "Duo, please calm down, your face is paling, you are going to send yourself into shock which would be bad for the baby." There it was, baby, I was pregnant, or they thought I was. I sat up abruptly, which caused them all to jump up "Are.. are you sure?" I stared at the doctor and bless him; he seemed to understand what I was asking. "Well the tests will confirm but I am quite positive in my assessment Duo. Congratulations, you are going to have a pup."

My limbs started to shake "But... But what about morning sickness and tiredness?" He was grabbing something from the cabinets as he replied "Well according to Meiran and Wufei you were exhausted after your trip, you also had dizzy spells, aches in your back and legs and an aversion to the smells of some herbs. You have also been feeling very hungry and eating the weird craving food along with Meiran. When I measured your chest you were also very tender despite how gentle I was being. Not everyone experiences all symptoms; you never got the morning sickness, which although the most common symptom does not appear in everyone."

Meiran looked smug then "I had kind of been, guessing, ever since you almost lost it with the smell of the herbs, that you were pregnant. Wufei thought I was crazy, but I knew I was right. When you wanted to come to the doctor, I couldn't help but say yes. Yesterday I asked him to help me and check you out to see if I was right, and I was"

I couldn't make sense of it all "But why didn't I show any symptoms before now? I mean when I was at home we were looking for any little thing!" The Doctor was taking my blood then "Well that is what seems to be causing most of the confusion, you are not nearly as far along as you should be based on my evaluation. From what I can gather you won't be due until around late late spring or very early summer which means you conceived in to late summer . It almost seems impossible since wolves cycle in the spring and not the summer, and give birth at the end of winter not the end of spring...yet, here you are."

I don't know how long I stayed there on the exam table, just pondering everything. But finally felt a small shiver, and wrapped my arms around my stomach, feeling that bump. That bump, which just this morning I had revolted, was now a source of pure joy, and I felt my eyes well up with tears. I was pregnant.

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Happy stopping point yay! I am doing well at keeping up with writing the chapters at this point so things should be back to running smooth for a bit, however long that is.

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	18. Chapter 18

I woke up anxious the next morning, running my hand softly over the bump with a smile. I had only been awake a short while when Meiran came in, with some food for both of us. A smile came over me, she was my partner in crime, and now it felt like the bond between us was so much stronger. "After we eat we are going to see the doctor, the tests should be done. After that I think we maybe need to think about getting some new clothes made for you, because the ones you have now won't fit forever... trust me."

The food disappeared quickly between the pair of us, and I had to smile at her comment. The human form was so new, and clothing in general a fairly new concept, Meiran was probably one of the first in her clan to experience outgrowing clothes due to pregnancy. I hadn't stopped to think about it, but it seemed like I had been in human form since shortly after my arrival here, it was just such a convenient form. The cave clan seemed to have thought the same as it was rare to catch someone not in human form; they had also mastered the concept of clothing as well. They really were a rather bright and accepting pack.

I was so happy when I found out I was pregnant, it was the happiest moment of my life, well it was actually a tie with when Heero asked me to be his mate. That was when it hit me; Heero didn't know I was pregnant. In fact at this moment he was supposed to be spending time with the surrogate that he was going to impregnate. I leaped of the bed "I... I have to go home, I have to stop Heero, he doesn't know." I quickly gathered everything and then rushing to the entrance of the cave. I was being foolish and a bit irrational, but when I saw the white snow packed in the entrance, I felt like crying. Someone's arms came around me to comfort me and I heard Fei's voice in my ear. "I am sorry, Duo, you cannot go home until winter has passed. I know it's hard to hear but it is too dangerous for any of us, especially for you. You will have to be patient and wait until the weather is clear." Meiran had probably run to get him when I started freaking out and now he was here to calm me down. But being trapped only seemed to make me more upset.

That was certainly the last thing I wanted to hear and my legs just gave out of their own accord. "I have a pup, I can go home. I don't have to stay away. I can go be with Heero, we are having a pup Wufei, one of our own" He nodded and stroked a hand over my back "I know, but there is nothing we can do until the weather calms. I promise as soon as it is safe I will take you there myself as fast as I can. But until then I need you to be patient." I felt my body shudder and tears stained my cheeks, I finally had what I needed but I couldn't go home, not yet anyway.

I was really depressed for the next few days, spending all my time moping around until Meiran knocked me upside the head and said it was bad for the pregnancy to be depressed. I tried to cheer up and for the most part, I really did, but every morning, I checked the entrance to the cave, sometimes at night as well. Meiran was turning into a balloon and between our mood swings and mischief I think Wufei was going insane. My stomach was far behind Meiran's I was due at least whole season after her, if not more, which meant I had plenty of time to get back to Heero before my pups were due. The only thing I was worried about was him and Relena, he didn't know I was pregnant and there was no way to get out and send anyone back to tell him until winter was over. I was worried about him bedding her; admittedly I was jealous as could be. Some nights I had nightmares about returning and having him tell me he had transferred his love from me to Relena. I knew it was ridiculous but apparently my subconscious still loved to torture me over it.

Time seemed to pass so slowly, despite this being such a pleasant place with wonderful people, it just wasn't Heero, and it wasn't home. I laid awake most nights just rubbing my hand over the baby, counting down the time until winter should be over. When it did not look like the snow was clearing, I began to worry. According to my mental clock things should be melting, the weather warming, but it wasn't. At first I wrote it off as my mind playing tricks with me, but as Meiran's due day grew closer I knew it wasn't in my head anymore. Meiran was due for early spring, because she had conceived a bit late and it seemed like any day she would give birth. Spring was mating season and I needed to get back to Heero before he bedded Relena.

I finally managed to corner Wufei alone, and I interrogated him, for lack of a better term. "The spring should have already been here Wufei? What is going on?" He looked upset then, not able to look me in the eye "This happens some years, the snow here is much more persistent, it will last longer than in your village. We are higher up, the cold effects us longer. It would have been no issue when you originally came here. But now I wait everyday for it to clear enough to take you. I am now worried about leaving Meiran on her own, she is overdue and I could not abandon her like that. I... I fear we may have to put off our journey even longer because of that. I did not want to tell you, since I don't want you to blame her. But it looks like you may not make it there until after the summer has begun."

My eyes teared up; they did that a lot with all the hormones now. "I would never blame Meiran, Wufei, but I just want to go home. Can't someone else take me home once it is safe?" He looked uncomfortable now "I promised to take you, and I will, it would be safer if I escorted you personally." But since the cards were already on the table I knew what to do. "I think we both know that is not possible Wufei. The snow will clear but I will then still be here while Meiran has her pup, and probably for a while afterwards. I know you would not leave her alone with a newborn... with your plans I will then be in danger of going into labor myself on the journey and Heero will be... sleeping with Relena the whole time. Although you promised to take me, I think we both know that is no longer possible."

His jaw line clenched in defiance, Wufei was stubborn if nothing else, but after a few moments he eased. "I am sorry Duo, I promised to take you back and I had every intention of doing so. But... you are right; I will not be able too. I will have to send you with some guards instead. I feel so horrible for doing this to you, while you are carrying your pup no less, but I also made a commitment to Meiran, when I made her my mate." I could see he was struggling, trying to come to terms with the fact that he would break his promise to me. But I had already accepted that, the only thing that angered me was that it seemed his plan had been to just continue stalling, which would have made everything worse. "I know Wufei; I do not blame you for any of this. But please, as soon as the passage is safe I must leave, it is imperative that I get there as soon as possible. Spring time has already started and I dont want Heero to make a mistake..."

A sigh was the only noise he made for the longest time "I am not sure how soon we can send you. Though I will try my best, I cannot control the weather. After this clears, and I send you on your journey, in your condition you are not to be running, doctors orders. It will take you possible two to three as long to get home as it did to get here. By the time everything has come to play its possible you will have to stay here and have the pup. I will do whatever I can, but the odds of you getting there in time are quite low."

I could feel the tears coming again and had to blink them away, I just nodded wordlessly instead and left the room, to go to my own where I could cry and sulk in peace. I was motionless on my bed, my hand resting over my abdomen as the scenario of Heero and Relena in bed together ran over and over in my mind. It just was not fair. I fell asleep like that, skipping dinner.

It was not much longer that I awoke, to my stomach trying to eat me alive. Seems the baby didn't much like it's vessel skipping dinner. I got up and wobbled to the main hall, determined to make it to the kitchen. Meiran and Wufei's cavern was along the way and I saw Meiran emerging from it as I approached. "What are you doing up, Meiran?"

She smiled and shrugged "I could ask you the same thing. The baby is shifting around too much, I can't sleep." I smirked and offered my arm to her. "Well then, would you like to escort me to the food, I promise to be good company, hormones and all. Or at least good entertainment as I stuff myself." I heard a small laugh and felt her link her arm in mine and we walked to the kitchen together. I threw together some food to eat and munched it quietly as she spoke of her pregnancy misadventures for tonight. Apparently the little tyke woke her up with all his shifting and bouncing around. I knew the feeling to an extent, it was very odd when the baby moved around, but I could only imagine how she felt since hers was closer than mine. When her voice froze and I heard a sharp gasp I almost took another head dive from my chair "What is it? What is wrong?"

Her face had an odd look of surprise mixed with relief and happiness. "I think I was mistaken. The baby isn't really moving, well I mean at one point he probably was. But I think I am in labor and these are contractions." Admittedly I freaked out. Dropped my plate of food, scrambled off the chair, rather ungracefully and was shouting about getting Wufei and the doctor. I don't know what I was thinking, since the doctor had explained this to me several times now. When contractions started you still had a long time before the baby was actually on the way.

Meiran's laughing calmed me down. It appeared she found my spectacle amusing. At least I had kept my promise of entertainment. She waited patiently as I cleaned up the mess I made and we both walked calmly back to her dwelling. She told me to wait a moment before entering her door and suddenly I saw Wufei bursting out, running around the hall about having to get the doctor. I found it amusing, and wondered if that was how I had looked.

It took a little bit longer to calm Wufei down, and once we had they both told me to go back to bed and they would wake me in the morning or sooner if need be. After the excitement, I wasn't quite sure I could sleep but there was nothing I could do to speed it up. But as soon as I was on the bed I was asleep again.

Someone was gently calling to me, and I opened my eyes to see Wufei. "Good morning Duo, Meiran had the baby, she wants you to come see it." I frowned and my voice was a little grouchy "I wanted to be there for the birth, why didn't you wake me?" He had already risen from the edge of my bed and was waiting at the door. "The doctor would only allow me and himself in there with her. We tried to convince him but he refused. You would have just been waiting and pacing outside in the hallway which would have done you no good. So we decided to let you sleep until the doctor said you were allowed in. Now I suggest you hurry, after being in labor almost all night and part of the morning my mate is very grouchy and impatient.

I followed Wufei to the clinic and almost broke down crying at the site of Meiran and her baby. Things seemed horribly depressing the next few days, as Meiran was too busy to spend time with me and I kept playing thoughts of Heero and Relena over and over in my head. The snow had cleared away from the entrance and the last of the drifts appeared to be dying down but I still was a long journeys distance away from Heero.

When the day finally came for my departure, I felt my spirits lifting and felt like running the whole way. Although spring was already a few weeks in I would be home sooner than Wufei had expected. But still far later than I wanted. Wufei had contemplated sending a messenger and making me stay on the off chance that something went wrong. But I about ripped him to shreds for even suggesting it. I was worried about the journey as well. I didn't have much time until I was due and the journey would take a week or two at my pace. Wolves were lucky though, in wolf form we could carry pups quite comfortably. Well we could at least move at a decent pace instead of shuffling. But I still was not allowed to run much. I was definitely cutting it close, but there was no way I was having my pup here, away from Heero. Even if I was already to late to stop what was happening with Relena

The journey seemed to draw on for days. The guards kept trying to coddle me and I kept trying to push them, to go farther, faster. I know I put them in an awkward place but I wanted to be home dammit. It was all worth it though, when my eyes landed on the river that ran through our territory. I just about broke down in tears then. But instead decided to put that energy into making it to the town as soon as possible. We reached the edges of town and I was still in wolf form when Harris approached me. Harris' tone was soft but scolding "Duo, what are you doing here? You know you should not be here until after Relena has weaned the pup." I smiled and quickly shifted into half form, revealing more obviously my large belly. His eyes grew wide. "H...how!?", Harris asked. I replied quickly, wanting to be on my way "I will explain later, but right now I want to find Heero, where is he?" Harris quickly replied that he had last seen Heero heading into our dwelling.

I switched into human form and made my way towards the house. I didn't want Heero to make the same mistake as Harris had. I knocked gently at the door and garnered no response. So I knocked a little bit louder and heard a distinct growl saying to go away. I smiled, knowing he wouldn't have said that had he known who was outside his door. I carefully pushed the door open, closing it quietly behind me so I was standing in the entry way. Then I pushed the entry way door open and heard the same growl "I said go away!" I went to sit in one of the kitchen chairs and said in a fake berating tone "Now is that any way to talk to your mate". Heero was curled up on our bed, facing the wall, but as soon as he heard my voice he jumped up to look at me. I have never seen someone's eyes so wide or a look so shocked as when he saw me standing there with a stomach the size of a stack of dinner plates. His breath inhaled sharply as he was about to say something when the door slammed open, and a flash of blond hair ran past me shouting. "Oh Heero its so great!".

I sat in shock at the sight as Relena threw herself onto the bed with Heero and wrapped her arms around him. "I am pregnant Heero!" I think the earth may have disappeared from beneath me at that moment in time, as it felt like I was falling uncontrollably. I felt like ripping her to shreds and shouting my lungs out, but I couldn't move, couldn't speak. Part of it was irrational, it was part of the deal that he would sleep with her to bear the pup, but if she was pregnant the deed was done. I saw Heero firmly push her off him and stand up "I think you need to leave Relena... we will figure out what to do about your pregnancy later". She seemed to look confused then suddenly 'noticed' me. Her actions were far too dramatic and overdone, it was clear she knew I was here, probably the whole time. Her voice was sickly sweet as she spoke "Oh, hello there Duo. My you have gotten fat".

That did it for me she was dead. I felt my blood speed up as I went to stand from my seat. But Heero's deep voice resonated and shouted at her to get out. She scurried out quickly but the damage had already been done. I deflated at that point, sitting listlessly in the chair, staring at the wood of the table. I heard Heero let out a deep sigh and could hear him walking over to me. This was not how I wanted this to go... I wanted him to be ecstatic to see me, to cry to hug me to at least say how much he had missed me! Say something about me being pregnant! But it felt like there was this void between us that I couldn't bridge.

He pulled up a chair to sit in front of me and slowly stretched his hand out to touch my stomach softly. The whisper was so soft that I almost didn't hear it "How... did this happen?" I felt tears coming to my eyes, this was all just too much. I started to stand up and could barely force any words past my lips "I need to go for a walk." He was up in a flash, stopping me "No, you... stay here, I will leave. You need to rest, I am going to try and figure some things out. I will leave you alone for a while."

I just sat there, staring at the wall for what seemed like hours, and probably was. I couldn't move, I felt frozen in place. The light from the outside faded to black and the whole room turned dark. But I still sat there staring at the wall until the sound of the door opening broke my concentration. I turned to see Heero quietly coming in, he gasped when he saw me and rushed over, kneeling at my side. "Duo, have you been sitting here this whole time?" I turned slowly to look at him and nodded. He clasped my hand and placed an arm around my back "You need to lay down. Let me help you into the bed." I felt him pull me up and begin to move me across the room, once I was on the bed he seemed to hesitate and his voice came out very soft "Do you want me to sleep in the other bed?". I shook my head no before I even seemed to know what I was doing.

He gently pushed me over, so my back was against the wall and crawled in with me, wrapping his arms around me as best he could. I broke down then, and cried, I could feel Heero rubbing my back and telling me over and over that it would be okay, but I couldn't stop. I don't know when I stopped crying or when I fell asleep, I was just so exhausted.

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Just seemed like a decent spot to end lol. Okay its a horrible spot to end but seeing as I seem to be doing good at keeping up with the chapters I will just let it slide

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	19. Chapter 19

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Okay its back to Heero's POV and I am hoping it will stay this way for the rest of the story if I can pull it off. I am trying to update every couple days or so. Normally I like to wait a bit longer between updates so everyone can keep up if they dont get to check stories everyday. But since I had planned on finishing this story before august of last year and its now January... I am just going to be putting up what I have at faster intervals and then trying to push to finish this hopefully before the end of this month if not the middle of February, but no promises. But if all goes well I will be done writing this story soon and then will only have to upload the chapters (which is coincidentally where I am the laziest in this process even though its just about the easiest step).

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HEERO'S POV!!!!

When Relena had shown up, she definitely seemed much more polite. But still made no apologies for her behavior. She also seemed to subtely flirt and even once cracked a joke about how after all of her spoiling me I would not want her to leave, and I would dread Duo coming back. Perhaps she had meant no ill will behind it but the whole thing was a giant open wound and she was poking at it. I had put a stop to almost all contact with her at that point. Harris seemed a bit ticked at me for it but I stopped caring long ago.

I almost felt sick when spring rolled around and Relena started to smell like pheromones. For some reason they no longer appealed to me, only holding bad memories to them. But I knew it signaled the beginning of something I would always regret. I tried a few times to go to Noventa's old dwelling, where she was staying, to talk, have dinner, try and ...do it. But I would always end up leaving angry at her, or feeling sick at just the idea of trying to bed her.

It took almost two weeks before anything happened, if you can call it that. I went over for dinner, Harris had persuaded me to continue trying and said he had spoken with Relena and she would be almost completely silent and docile the entire night. He urged me to imagine her as Duo, and that idea repulsed me so instead I determined to imagine her as someone other than herself. He had also suggested we try something at my home since it would make me more at ease, but I snapped at him, literally, tried to bite him. I think he got the idea about crossing Relena into my personal life and space.

I had a boquet of flowers in hand when I knocked on the door, Harris said Relena was mad at me and the flowers should appease her, personally I didnt care and he handed them to me so its not like I had to put any actual effort into this. The door opened and she saw the flowers and her eyes lit up. There was already a nice looking meal on the table, and it looked like one of the clans recipes, decorated beautifully with a few local herbs probably given to her by Harris. I was starting to feel like the man was wooing each of us seperately to try and get us together and almost felt bad for him. I handed the flowers to her wordlessly and she made the inane 'oh they are so beautiful' comments and fawned over them. She put them in the middle of the table and I sat down silently to eat.

Harris had been correct she was much more reserved and polite tonight, not much speaking aside from asking how things tasted. Things get a little blurry from there. I remember kind of stumbling around a bit and grabbing at Relena a few times but I cant remember if it was because I finally somehow blocked out my mind to just do the deed. I woke the next morning in bed with her, feeling slightly aroused. But when my vision cleared and I saw her face looking happy and smug I bolted. I practically ran back to my own house and barely made it through the door before I lost whatever I had eaten the night before. I couldn't do this anymore, I was done.

When Harris came over later to talk to me I told him I would not touch her ever again. He asked if something had gone wrong the night before but most of it was too blurry for me to recall. I told him I couldn't recall anything particularly bad about the night but that I just would not do it again. Nothing mattered anymore, being leader of the pack paled in comparison to having Duo with me. I had really only stepped up and competed because it meant I would have first claim. My father had raised me to be a leader but when the time came for the competition I had not really cared until the others showed interest in Duo. This all seemed so pointless now.

The plan had been to send a messenger out to retrieve Duo. Any backlash for my actions was going to be discussed after the messenger left. But Harris delayed the leaving of the messenger, telling me that I had slept with Relena at least once so we should wait and see if anything took or if my nerves would settle and we could try again. There would definitely be no trying again but I agreed to wait and see, only because I knew it would kill Duo inside to have to live here and watch Relena go through pregnancy and give birth to a pup that was mine but not his.

I spent all my spare time curled up on my bed staring at the wall. Relena and Harris had tried to persuade me a few times to try again, but after I nearly hit her one night they both backed off. Trowa and Quatre visited on occasion but it hurt to see them happy together with their cute pup, and I think they knew that, so they would space out the visits or just one would come without their child. They had named him Iree after Quatres deceased delta sister Ireena. Quatre had been a twin but his sister passed at a young age from an attack by the forest wolves.

When that knock came on the door, I thought it was Harris or Relena, that they had built up their courage enough to try again. I shouted angrily at them to leave, if I could help it I would never see Relena again, and I would definitely be more reluctant to stop by the clinic if I was sick or injured. When I heard his voice I felt my heart fall and stop then come slamming back, and when my eyes caught his appearance I felt like I was going to pass out. But before anything could be done, Relena came barging in. She threw her arms around me and invaded my bed. Her shouts brought my world crashing down around me. I didn't know what to do, what to say, I couldn't make my voice respond until she made a comment about Duo being fat. It seemed to work then and I heard myself shout at her to leave.

It all seemed so surreal to see him there. I wanted to hug him, cling to him and cry until everything was better. Tell him how much I missed him and ask how he was pregnant and what had happened. But it was like I was outside my own body looking in on myself. I pulled a chair up next to him and felt my hand shake as I touched his ballooned stomach. I felt like hitting myself for the first words that escaped my lips. When he started to get up I panicked. He said he needed to go for a walk but I had this irrational fear he was going to be taken from me again, and he looked horrible, like he could sleep for days. I told him to stay, if my presence was upsetting him so badly, I would leave for a while, though it tore me apart to do it.

As I opened the door I turned and saw him just staring straight ahead at the wall, and I said softly that I loved him and missed him, though I was not sure he was listening. Right now I needed to focus, to solve this problem. I saw Relena and Harris talking outside his clinic, she seemed angry, and was demanding to know what Duo was doing here.

I approached the pair and looked at her. "Are you really?..." I couldn't say it, I didnt want it to be true. She took on a watery smile that made me bitter and patted her stomach as she spoke in a sickly sweet tone. "I had suspected for a few days but this morning I woke up sick and just knew it." I looked at Harris and spoke quickly "So it has not been confirmed yet, she could just be sick?". His face fell and his voice was somber "I suppose that's possible Heero but its more likely she is pregnant."

I wanted to hate him, and I did hate her in that moment. "Then what are we waiting for, lets make sure, take tests. We have to figure this out and it would help to know if there is even a problem or not." I could see the rage growing in her eyes when I referred to her pregnancy as a 'problem' but I couldnt bring myself to feel bad about it. Harris nodded and tried to usher her into his clinic but she froze and looked very angry "NO! I will not do this tonight! I am tired and I am upset, and you are treating me like dirt when I came here to help you! It is unforgiveable. I will do your stupid tests tomorrow morning and I expect an apology then too." She stomped off like a two year old who had just gotten their toy taken from them, but she would get no apology from me. After all, she still owed me several.

Harris let out a long sigh and I felt his despair. My voice was shaky and quiet "What are we going to do if she is... you know.... pregnant." He seemed to flinch at my words and took a deep breath. "I don't know, Heero, she has every right to stay if she is." I felt myself bristle, it almost felt like he was insinuating that Duo would have to leave, but before I could address the situation he remedied it. "But Duo has just as much right if not more. We will find out in the morning if she is indeed really with pups. If not she will be sent home immediately and that will be the end of it. If not then we are going to have to come up with a solution of some sort. From what I saw of Duo he is very far along and is due soon, he needs the least amount of stress possible for his safety and his pups. I think the best solution would be to keep Relena at Noventas and I will be the one checking in on her for a while. She will be confined in the evenings and allowed to wander during the mornings. Duo will stay with you and he will likely be very tired and sleep most of the mornings anyway. A few weeks after he gives birth, I will expect you to start checking on Relena as well. You do not have to form an attachment of any sort to her, but treat her civilly and make sure she is safe, that is all. We will keep Duo nursing as long as possible so that as soon as Relena gives birth she will not have to stay and nurse and can instead leave as soon as possible after birth. The pup will be raised along side your other as your own."

I felt numb at the possibility of her being pregnant, but as Harris spoke of how far along Duo was and how critical everything was for him right now, I wanted to hurry home to him. I did all my work for the night as quickly as possible, but it had already been late when Duo arrived and now it was dark out. I opened the door to find he had not moved from where I left him and looked as white as a sheet. I felt my fear growing and kneeled next to him. I asked him if he had been there the whole time, though it was obvious he had been. His head turned very slowly and though his eyes looked at me, it was as if he couldn't see me. His nodded his head yes slowly and I was in motion. I grabbed his hand which felt cold as ice and wrapped an arm around his lower back to help him out of the chair.

I laid him gently in the bed, pulling the covers around him. There was nothing more I wanted than to climb in with him and hold him tight, but we still had not really talked and I didn't know how he was feeling. I didn't want to climb in and anger him or sleep in the other room and have him worry, so I asked. When he said yes I practically dove in their with him and as soon as my arms were around him he broke down crying and my heart broke for him.

I held him all night, never sleeping and just stroking his hair, whispering stupid promises and marveling at the fact that he was back in my arms. I only knew it was morning again, and late morning, when a knock on my door drew my attention. Harris quietly entered, motioning to keep silent so I wouldn't wake Duo. I kissed Duo's forehead gently and rose from the bed to speak with him. He informed me that the tests had been taken and he would have the results laster today. We agreed to meet at the clinic in the evening to discuss things and that Duo should be absent from the gathering to keep him from becoming emotionally distressed.

I could see Duo stirring slightly and I sat on the bed, gently stroking his ribs. Harris excused himself as Duo sat up, looking around a bit dazed. His eyes caught mine and froze, then fell to stare at his hands playing idly in his lap. I clasped one gently and waited for his eyes to raise to mine again, the spoke gently. "I love you Duo, so much this whole thing feels like being stabbed in the heart repeatedly. I dont want to face this at all, but I know I have too. We need... to talk about this. Figure everything out so there is no more confusion and hopefully less pain."

My breath shuddered as I drew it in deeply and explained to Duo that Relena and I had only slept together, as best I could remember, once and that before he had shown up it was already decided I would not bare child with her if she was not already pregnant. The turn of events seemed horrific. Here sat Duo, pregnant and about ready to give birth, after being sent away when everyone believed he was sterile.

His voice was tired when he told me his side of the story, about how he hadnt gotten pregnant until late summer or early fall, and how he had found out. He smiled a few times at the fond memories of Wufei and his mate but nothing could really bring back his true joy now that we knew Relena was possibly pregnant... with my pup. I explained the schedule and assured him I never wanted to see her again and would do my best to avoid all contact until she gave birth and left.

He hesitated a few moments then said something that made me remember why I loved him so much, it was his kind and forgiving heart. I knew he had no real reason to blame me, since Relena becoming pregnant had been the plan, but I blamed me for not standing up earlier and saying no. He told me I should treat her kindly, because if she was going to have my pup and he were in her position he couldnt bare to be treated cruelly by the wolf whose pup he was carrying. I nodded silently and then promised to try and be polite to her, but inside I would hate every minute of it.

When the time came for me to sneak off to the clinic I tried to cover it up by inviting Quatre, Trowa and Iree over to keep Duo company. I think he knew the charade for what it was but he kept quiet and smiled happily at Trowa's family. The sky had just begun to darken when I entered the clinic and saw Relena sitting on a chair and Harris standing nearby. When the door shut behind me, we all congregated and Harris gave us the results. Relena cried, from happiness. I cursed my luck and a shocked 'No' escaped my mouth. As much as I had tried to prepare myself for this, finding out that she really was pregnant was like being stoned. When Relena heard my dislike of the situation her claws seemed to come back out. I guess some of it could be written off as fear of her future but its not like we were going to hang her or something.

She asked what the plan was to care for her and we explained. I could hear the condescention in her tone when she said "Oh so he wasnt just fat then?" We all knew her little game, she knew as well as anyone else that she knew Duo was pregnant the moment she saw him. Harris and I discussed how Duo had conceived so late and what needed to be done to care for him and what his due date was likely to be. Relena decided to pipe in her own contribution to the conversation then "This is so unfair that I am to be confined to a dwelling in the evenings just because Duo came back pregnant. I mean for all we know the pup could be Wufei's since he conceived so 'late'". The only thing that stopped my hand from hitting her face was Harris grabbing my arm and holding me back. He shouted at her to leave immediately and I could hear his own anger at her words, after all, Duo had been his apprentice. The door closed behind her before he released me from his hold. I was seething inside, I felt like beheading her and being done with it. The only thing I would regret would be killing the innocent life inside her. Which, ironically was the current bane of my existence.

I went home wearily and emotionally drained. Trowa and Quatre left as soon as I got there, perhaps sensing that things were amiss. Duo was already lying on the bed and I climbed in with him, wrapping my arms around his chest and nuzzling his cheek. I could hear his voice hesitate as he asked for the verdict. It was now completely clear he knew where I was going earlier. I let out a deep sigh and told him the truth as simple as I could put it. He didn't seem to respond at all to the news, but then again what could he do? What could either of us do? The web had weaved itself and we couldn't do anything about being trapped in it now. Neither of us spoke another word that night, just fell asleep, enjoying being together again.

The next morning was grey and raining lightly, I was content to just stay with Duo in my arms all morning until he woke. As I lay there I pondered my current predicament. I was quite sure I would keep Duo and Relena completely apart, I remembered what she had done to Treize when he was pregnant, and after everything Duo had already been through, there was no way she was coming within several feet of him. I thought about how fair I could be to Relena's child with Duo having his own. Finally I thought about how unfair it was that all of this was eclipsing what should have been a great source of joy for myself, Duo and everyone else, which was Duo's own pregnancy.

Everyone should be fawning over him and giving him congratulations, celebrating his upcoming pup. But instead we were all so worried about what to do with Relena and her pup. I gently stroked his hair and thought about how unlucky this whole thing turned out to be, and tried to figure out how the hell we were going to get through it.

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I would just like to remind everyone at this point that murdering me is illegal and if you kill me I won't be able to finish the story. While you all ponder that tidbit I will be spending my time going into hiding...

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	20. Chapter 20

Okay so bad news... my computer at work is out. I used to type this story up during my lunch break etc and now I cant work on the story much at all. With my classes etc I just really dont have time outside my lunch break to just sit down and work on this. The worst part is its not just my computer its everyone in my office but one person so they estimate it could take a month or more before things are fixed. I could write it then type it up later but the problem is I type much faster just typing from thought than copying from paper so that would be counter productive to writing the story. Luckily its almost over but I only have this chapter and the next done atm so I am going to stall putting up the next to try and get the chapter after that done. I definitely wont be finishing this story before February like I had hoped. But I am now shooting to finish it before mid February (really wanting to get it done sooner than that tbh but I will see how this plays out).

As for some questions left in review I will only answer ones I feel like wouldnt give away parts of the story. Heero's mother was a hermaphrodite like Duo is. Meaning she was male and female. Other questions will be answered in future chapters most likely so answering them now would be giving away future parts which I dont like doing.

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Time seemed to slow down infinitely after that day. I was over joyed to have Duo back, and tried my best to lavish him with the attention and praises he deserved. As things settled more and more people got over the drama of me having two pups by two different wolves. Under different circumstances it would be a scandal, but now it was a tragedy to me, a source of confusion for the pack, and a river of emotional pain for Duo. The only person who seemed happy about it all was Relena. I had not spoken to her since the day outside the clinic but I saw her walking around in the mornings. She was far too chipper. She would brag about having one symptom or another, how great of a mother she would be and a how much more beautiful her pups would be than everyone else's. It was easy to see why everyone was growing agitated with her quickly.

We had sent word to Zechs about the situation, and had not heard back yet. We weren't sure what, if anything he could do but figured he should know what was happening to his sister anyway. Relena seemed to be putting on weight, Harris said her pregnancy was progressing fine and Duo got to the point where he could barely go a few hours without needing a nap. So far everything was working out well, but then again I still hadn't really accepted the reality of Relena's pup being born next year.

It was weeks before we heard back from Zech's pack. It was a very rainy morning so everyone had stayed in and the messengers arrived later that afternoon. They brought a rather lengthy letter from Zech's. I went home to read it and found the place empty. Duo had taken to visiting his friends like Quatre in the evening and most of the time I joined him. But he must have seen the messengers and gone on without me. I opted to read the letter first then join them, so I had time to dispose of it in case it was going to be aggravating to me or Duo.

Zech's was as long winded as ever and the letter seemed to go on and on about how while he thought the situation unfair, he knew that we were handinlg it as fairly as possible. He wrote that he would come and visit his sister during the summer to comfort her then again in the spring when she was ready to go back with them. There was only a page or so left when I realized the script changed. It was someone else's hand writing, and it only took a few moments to figure out it belonged to Treize. I found it odd Treize would be writing in the message but continued reading anyway.

'Heero, Zech's has already finished this letter and does not know I am adding too it. I cannot allow the guilt to consume me any further. I lied that day, when Trowa asked if Relena had changed. I felt no harm in the lie at the time, since no harm could have come from it then. She had appeared to change after Zech's kicked her out, but then she took to playing this game. She would no longer attack anyone directly or start fights; she would by all means appear the polite child Zechs wanted her to be. But more than once I caught her in devious acts. I kept my silence for a while, knowing Zech's might not believe me in the face of his 'angel' of a sister. It was foolish of me but since she was leaving me alone for the most part I no longer had the energy to care.

That all changed shortly before your messenger came seeking a surrogate. I caught her trying to harm my pup, and that is what spurred me to tell this horrible lie. She tried to drop him into the lake from a cliff and she just might have, had I not shown up at the time. Zechs promised to give me a day where I could just relax because I had grown very weary. He was going to watch my pup, but what he didn't tell me was that he was going to have Relena watch the pup since she had been pleading too for a while. He said she told him she desperately wanted a pup of her own, and would be happy to watch mine for a while.

I had gone down to the lake to soak in the waters for a while when I saw her, holding my pup over the edge of a cliff that hung above the water and shouting at it. She was blaming it for everything, for me 'taking' her brother away and for getting her kicked out of the pack leaders dwelling into a smaller one for just her. She shook him a few times then looked like she was going to drop him. I shouted and she stopped, looking at me with a horrible evil smile and then handed me the pup and said I couldn't protect him forever.

I ran back to town immediately to tell Zechs, but when I got there your messenger was there, asking for a surrogate. Please forgive me Heero, I saw my way out of it and I took it. I suggested that Relena would be excellent, and lied about her changed nature. It seemed like the perfect escape. She would be gone for at least a year and I would have time to inform Zech's of her actions without her around to sabotage everything. I am sorry I let this fall onto your shoulders, but I thought since Duo would be gone, and she would be giving birth to your pup, she would be happy and it would all be safe. When your messengers came telling us of what had happened I felt sick, I know Duo is not safe anymore and I feel such immense hatred of myself for what was done. I urged Zechs to reply as soon as possible, but he kept saying he was delaying his response, trying to find the proper words. This letter leaves tonight, and tomorrow morning I plan to tell him everything. I do not know what will happen to Relena, I do not wish her back here and I am certain she cannot stay with you. Once Zechs finds out the whole story I am not sure what he intends to do. Please be careful, she is very dangerous.

-Treize'

I felt my blood run cold; it was easy to believe the whole story. As much as I did feel bad for Treize, I wasn't foolish enough to leave Relena here anymore. I was also angry, that this was hidden from me. What could have happened to any member of my pack should they have crossed her path. I rose quickly from my chair, planning out a course of action. I caught the messengers before they left, asking them to stay. I was going to send her back with them. She would give birth to the pup in Zech's pack, or if he wouldn't allow her, wherever she could find. I was unsure if I would retrieve the pup from her after it was born or just leave it to her to raise. I knew the pup was partially mine but I had no desire to have it at all, and I feared if I took it from her she might try and exact some form of revenge.

I grabbed Harris to inform him of the situation and told him to go to Relena's dwelling and start preparing her to leave. She would be gone in the morning, and that was the end of it. Once the plan was set into motion I went over to check on Duo. I knocked on Quatre's door and a happy Trowa opened it. "Hello Heero, how are you tonight? Oh, where is Duo?" I felt a little worm of panic settle inside me but it was foolish to assume yet, there were a hundred other places he could be right now. I told Trowa to go look for him and then turned to go to another of his friend's house. I knocked on Gabriel's door and received no answer, so I went to the center of town, ready to call the wolves to search for my mate, when I saw Harris and Gabriel coming from opposite directions. Harris came to me out of breath saying Relena wasn't in her dwelling. But in the distance I could see Gabriel dragging her by the arm.

We walked swiftly towards him, the worry in my stomach subsiding slightly, at knowing Duo was not with Relena, but still there since I did not know where he was. Gabriel threw her at the ground in front of me and while I wasn't going to protest his treatment of her, I had to wonder at it. "Tell him what you did!" he shouted at her. She cowered on the ground before me, saying she was sorry for coming out in the evening, but that she deserved to be able to stretch her legs since it rained all morning. Gabriel looked me in the eye and told me he had caught her with a member of from the forest pack. My eyes widened and I snarled. She pleaded that it was nothing then he shouted at the top of his longs "What did you do with Duo!". The worry inside me was now a full grown monster, tearing apart my insides. All I could say was "what?".

Gabriel snarled down at Relena "I saw her going into the forest with him. I knew something was amiss. I lost her trail for a while, but when I found her she was alone with one of the forest members and there was no sign of Duo." It was my turn to snarl, and I grabbed her by the arm, hauling her up. As I did though, stuffing fell from her shirt and clothing, showing a thin form. "What... in the world?" was Gabriel's reaction. Relena broke out into laughs, I wanted to rip her throat out but she knew where Duo was. Her voice almost shrieked when she spoke "You fools! All of you, just great fools! You don't know what you had right in front of you. I deserved to be your mate, to be a pack leader's mate! I am pack royalty, and you wanted me I know you did. Instead some crummy little rat that you found abandoned gets chosen instead of me? Well you are too late; my plan has worked you great, great fools!"

I shook her and shouted "What plan!" By now the town was gathering around us. She smiled a large smile and turned her voice into a sultry sweet tone. "Oh darling Heero, don't think I am a fool. I saw Duo come into town, I knew he wasn't fat and I knew I had to do something about my new 'problem'. I set everything into motion long before he returned. I knew once I had your pup and you saw me with the gorgeous child you would never want him back. I drugged you that night, Harris gave me an aphrodisiac but that would only put you into the mood but not make you actually do anything. The old coot had given me a book on herbs to try and help. Not only did I find the aphrodisiacs, but I also found more... persuasive herbs. Ones that would make you confused and force you to hallucinate. Unfortunately I either didn't give you enough or I gave too much as you stumbled around and passed out for the rest of the night."

" I put you in my bed then hoping things would work better in the morning, or if you thought we had, you wouldn't feel so uncomfortable about doing it again. I knew it was only your honor in being faithful to that slut that was holding you back. I could see the heat in your eyes when we spoke, I know you wanted me. But you wouldn't come back again after that, and then Duo came back. The whore was going to ruin everything. I said I was pregnant to buy more time, but when you demanded a test I knew my scheme was done. Until I used that book Harris gave me again. Do you know how many herbs can give you a false positive? I do. How many can replicate morning sickness, and other pregnancy signs? I know them all! I spent all night taking as many things as I could and it worked. The test came back positive. I started stuffing my clothes to make it look like I was growing a baby belly. No one looked at me enough to know the difference. But all I had to do was bide my time."

" You see the first night I stayed in that dwelling I found a secret tunnel that led to the forest pack. I made a deal with them after Duo came back. They would take Duo off my hands and I would make sure to help them when I became your new mate. I just waited for an opportunity to present itself, and tonight it did. The idiot followed me straight to them when I told him I wanted to take a walk with him and apologize. It was far too easy to just hand him over to them. But don't worry Heero, I got rid of him for you, for us, he is gone now, you don't have to hold back anymore. We can have a puppy of our own, a real one."

I threw her onto the ground, telling Gabriel to put her into the dungeon in the community dwelling. He seemed all too happy to oblige me. But from there I was at a loss of what to do. I howled to bring everyone else to town and quickly tried to set up plans to search for Duo, but it was already dark, things looked bleak. Me and as many betas as possible spent all night looking for Duo. When morning came, a lot gave up the search, to go home and sleep, but I didn't stop. His scent stopped where the forest pack's began. We weren't sure what to do, we couldn't just walk into their village, but we couldn't just leave him there. What would they do to him?

I was still wandering the border lands when I heard a series of howls coming from town. I rushed back, not knowing what to expect. What I found both relieved and disturbed me. There was a wolf, much like Duo, in his half form, a long flowing mane sprouting from his neck, and golden rings dangling from piercings near the top of his ears. His eyes were the color of amber and he radiated with danger but seemed calm. Blood stained his coat and his teeth, and for a moment I feared the worst. Everyone was keeping their distance from him, but when I saw Duo standing behind him I lost all caution within me. I shouted my mates name and swept my arms around him, stroking his hair and letting out a few high pitched whines of happiness and relief.

A growl interrupted my reunion and the stranger was baring his teeth, the hair on body raised. Duo seemed to know what was going on and stood between us. "Knock it off Solo! He is my mate." The stranger seemed to be unable to contain his rage anymore "He took you from us!" Duo bristled at the comment, letting out a growl of his own "No, you left me!" The intruders voice got much quieter and softer, almost hitching as he spoke "We...we thought you were dead." Duo seemed to calm as well, seeing the other so upset "I would have been, if Heero had not saved me. Really, Solo, I am happy here. You don't need to protect me from them."

That seemed to anger this Solo wolf again "Apparently I do since I just had to save you from those other wolves. They obviously don't care enough about you to keep you safe!" Before he could even finish Duo was ready with his comeback "No! It was my fault that I followed her into the woods. No one knew, it was entirely my fault. Don't blame them at all"

He snorted and mumbled "Fine, but you are coming back home with me." Duo seemed to deflate then, his shoulders slumping. "For the last time Solo, this is my home. Even if I am not related to them by blood, they are my family. I belong here, and I understand you want me back but I cannot leave them. I cannot leave my mate and friends"

The smile he got then frightened me "A mate who has another pup on the way by the same woman who tried to get rid of you? What sort of life can you live like that? Will you raise her pup? Or will your mate just choose to be unfaithful and take both you and her under your wing. You are not safe here!"

Duo was exhausted, I could see it in the way his body slightly shook and even though it was clear he was angry, he could barely keep his eyes open. I wrapped an arm around him and gently kissed his forehead, my own voice coming out in a low hiss "Enough, who are you?" His voice had a growling quality to it when he responded "I am Solo, that is my brother Duo, and I am here to take him home."

I stiffened, Duo's brother? I couldn't even begin to comprehend the how and where's of this story when I felt Duo leaning heavily against me. I stroked his spine gently and whispered to him to go home and everything would be handled once he had gotten some sleep. He nodded and stumbled towards our dwelling, Solo reached for him and I growled "Let him sleep! Everything can be handled better once we have all gotten some sleep."

He nodded and I instructed Trowa and Gabriel to find a place for him to rest while I joined Duo. Once he was out of my sight I let out a long sigh and ran a hand through my hair. What a mess this all was, but my advice was good. I was going to go home and get some sleep then face this all once I wasn't so tired. Duo was sprawled out on the bed, his eyes closed in sleep when I finally got there. I smiled and curled up against his back, throwing and arm around him as best I could and I drifted into my own world of dreams.

I am not sure how long I had been asleep exactly, but Duo shifting every so often under my arm is what woke me up. I yawned and gently ran my fingers through his hair, kissing his temple when I noticed his eyes open "You okay?" He nodded and his voice was gentle when he responded "Yeah, the contractions are just making it hard to sleep." My mind was still half asleep so it took a while to add up that contractions meant labor which meant the baby was coming... now!

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I will try not to leave this one hanging too long just because its a definite cliffhanger but my updates wont be as fast as there were for a while there.


	21. Chapter 21

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Er uhm yeah heh... February. Well it turns out the situation at work turned out to be much worse than I initially thought it would be and I was stuck without a computer for... about four weeks. After that the olympics (YAY!) came and I am just a huge olympics freak so I was spending my lunch hour checking the medals/competitions. After that I hit a huge block with the story and just couldnt manage more than a line or two at a time.

This story is almost over (YAY!) this is the second to last chapter. My issues now seem to be to keep reminding myself to write these stories how I wanted, and not worry so much about them being maybe too angsty or something as I intended this one to be a heavy angst story. I just keep going "What if people think its too much?" but then have to keep reminding myself I write these for myself, because I enjoy it and because I want to be able to remember/read them later. Anyway, this is the second to last chapter. Enjoy!

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My eyes had slid shut, my body trying to go back to sleep while my mind slowly worked through that equation. But once it hit me I was out of the bed like a shot "Duo! You are in labor, why didn't you tell me? We need to get Harris, we need to get ready!"

Duo's chuckle is the only thing that broke through my panic. His chuckle turned into full blown laughter, but I was amiss as to what was so funny. Between the laughter he managed to gasp out a few words "Oh goodness... you look just like Wufei when Meiran told him she was in labor. Probably look just like me when she told me." His laughter finally died down and his voice had a tired tinge too it but one of happiness as well "Don't worry so much Heero, there is still a long time before anything is going to happen. I just want to try and get some sleep and rest until the contractions are very close together."

I nodded dumbly at his words. Normally I might have gotten the whole lecture on pregnancy and birth but, because Duo had left and seen another doctor and I had nothing to do with Relena's pregnancy I had missed that speech. Still I wanted to at least get the ball rolling. "Okay Duo, you just stay put for a few seconds, I am going to let Harris know what's going on so he at least is ready when it does become more serious." Duo nodded and yawned widely, closing his eyes to get as much sleep as he could before something woke him again.

As the door shut behind me I rethought leaving Duo alone, that Solo wolf who claimed to be Duo's brother was still here, and he seemed adamant that Duo was leaving with him. Until that was settled, I didn't want him alone. I let out a low howl, hoping to just gain the attention of someone nearby, and Trowa answered my call. I felt relief wash over me "Can you watch the door for a small bit to make sure no one bothers Duo? I will be right back". He got a confused face but nodded and stood guard in front of my dwelling. I ran as fast as my legs would take me, straight to the clinic, hoping to find Harris there. It appeared luck was on my side. He was sitting in a chair, his head in his hands leaning over a table.

I cleared my throat to get his attention and he looked up, sorrow filling his eyes. "I am sorry, Heero, for everything. I thought I was doing what was best for the pack when I pushed you to sleep with Relena. I thought I was helping you both when I gave her that book. But it appears I was horribly wrong and my mistakes almost cost us too much." I had considered my anger at Harris when I was looking for Duo. In reality I was mad at how things had turned out, not at him. He had only done what he thought was right and there was no way he could have predicted this outcome. I nodded at his apology, showing I had heard it, but I didn't have time to dwell on these things right now. Relena could keep sitting in the dungeon, and Solo could wait until the dust had at least settled.

"I accept your apology Harris, and while I am angered at some of the things you did. I do not blame you for how this all turned out. Right now though, I would prefer if we could put this behind us, if not permanently than at least temporarily as there are more important things going on. Duo is in labor, he said he wanted to stay at home until things had progressed farther but I thought you should know so you can be prepared."

He smiled and let out a half-hearted laugh "That Duo, even when everything seems to be crashing down around us he brings all the happiness he can manage to us all. Not to mention the wisdom and calm of someone twice his age. No matter how many times I give the labor speech, most wolves burst in here at the first tiny contraction and freak out that they are about to give birth. Let him rest for as long as possible, all the stress and physical labor must have worn him out and he needs his strength for what is to come. Do you know how long he has been in labor?"

I felt like hitting my head on the wall, I felt so stupid for not asking. I shook my head no and got this wide eyed look and Harris let out a real laugh then. "Now that's more like what I am used too. Don't worry Heero, I will drop by in a while to check on him and we can go from there. For now why don't you get back and the two of you just rest for a while. If things suddenly progress then come get me, but for the time being just relax." I nodded dumbly and left, sort of bewildered on my walk home. Trowa was still in front of the door, saying nothing had changed and no one had even come by. He asked what was going on and I gave into the temptation to tell him that Duo was in labor, but I pleaded with him to keep it a secret for now. The last thing I wanted was for a bunch of wolves to flood the entrance to our house to come visit Duo.

I opened the closed the door as quietly as possible and crawled back into bed with Duo. He smiled happily and nuzzled against me. It seemed like the perfect time to ask questions, since he was awake. "Duo, how long have you been in labor?" His brow scrunched adorably and he seemed to ponder the question before letting me know he felt the first contractions on his way back to the pack with Solo. The answer didnt give me a time frame but he seemed to happily drifting back to sleep so I wasn't going to push things, just try and guess it had been a few hours. I gently stroked his hair and watched him smile happily in his half-sleep. I laughed inside my head when I thought that if he was a cat he would probably be purring.

I waited patiently until the door opened and admitted Harris. I felt myself drifting off as he and Duo spoke, I was so tired I just couldn't stop my eyes from closing on me. I don't know how long I was asleep before I felt and arm shaking me to wake up. I groggily opened my eyes and saw Trowa hovering over me. I blinked a few times trying to hear what he said. They had taken Duo to the clinic as the time was near, Duo had insisted letting me sleep as long as possible but the baby would be crowning any moment.

I half raced and half stumbled my way to the clinic, and saw Solo hovering outside the door. I vaguely wondered if someone had told him, and if they had I was going to kill them. At least he had the respect to wait outside and say nothing to me as I went inside. Duo was already set up on the table and Harris was telling him to push. I have never seen him smile more beautifully than he did when he saw me come inside. I walked on unsure legs to his side and held his hand gently. He was squeezing mine so hard I thought he would break my bones, but I hardly noticed. When I heard the whining of the pup I think a few tears may have escaped my eyes, but I will deny everything if Harris or Duo ever mention it.

Harris handed the small furball to me after it had been cleaned and wrapped in a few skins. I smiled down and held it up for Duo to see, poor Duo was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyelids open. The pup's hair was so dark I would have assumed it was Wufei and Meirans instead of mine and Duo's. But I knew that the hair would fade with time and the two eyes that were currently sealed from the world would open. Based on how dark the coat was I assumed he would be closer in color to me than to Duo once it had shed out a few times. I dont know how long I held the pup but Harris finally took it from me to put it down in the clinic baby basket to rest undisturbed. Duo had fallen asleep, completely worn out. I was told it would be a while before Duo would probably wake up and be coherent. They would wake him when the baby became hungry but until then it was best to leave them both alone.

Harris shooed me out of the clinic and I felt sort of lost for a moment, until I saw Solo still standing outside the door, his eyebrow raised expectantly in question. I smiled, not sure why I felt this sudden need to be civil to him "They are both fine." He rolled his eyes like I said something stupid "I figured as much, but what is the gender?" I opened my mouth to respond and had to stop for a moment trying to remember what Harris said. "It's fully male, so a Beta." He patted me on the shoulder and I felt almost a brotherly bond forming between us.

He let out a deep sigh, preparing for a speech. "I am sorry, about earlier. I was so shocked when I picked up Duo's scent, and then terrified when I saw him with those other wolves being drug through the forest. I could not imagine he had been anywhere safe since he fell off the cliff as a child. After spending some time here, I am happy to admit I was wrong, about all of you... Things have been explained to me in depth, and while circumstances have been unfortunate your pack is a good one."

I smiled and accepted his apology easily. Though I think at the moment I was on some sort of happy high and probably would have agreed to anything. I came crashing down from it pretty quickly though when I remembered the other unfinished business I had waiting for me. Carefully, I pushed past Solo, but I think he figured out where I was about to go since he followed me. I went into the dungeons, and saw Relena, curled up and whining about how she deserved this or that. I had never in my life met anyone who infuriated me so. Solo didn't seem much pleased with her either. She finally seemed to notice us and sat up, a grim smile covering her features "So, did they kill the whore? Did you find his carcass?"

Solo had to hold me back as I lunged, reaching through the bars to grab at her. A voice bellowed out behind me, one I knew and had grown to dislike as well. I turned to see Zech's standing at the top of the stairs that lead into our dungeon. I could only assume he had come immediately after Treize had told him what she had tried to do to their pup. The time line was correct for him leaving after finding out. Treize was behind him looking remorseful. I growled low in my throat to Zech's. "You better take her and leave immediately or I will kill her, I don't care if it causes a war I will kill her." I could see the shock on her face but it only made me feel happy that she finally seemed to be understanding what was happening.

Zech's face was filled with pain, and Treize was the first to speak "I am sorry Heero, so sorry about Duo. There is nothing I can do to bring him back but... because of my deception his life was forfeit and you may take mine as payment." Zechs was in motion then, placing himself between us. I had to stop a moment, and assumed they thought Duo was dead because of what Relena said, and how I had reacted. I managed, in the most civil voice possible, to assauge their fears. "Duo is not dead, but if I ever see her again she will be."

I saw Zech's hesitate a few moments before nodding. He took the keys from me and opened the cell door. His sister rose to embrace him shouting and angry, saying how badly she had been treated, how she deserved better. It was clear she learned nothing. I turned to leave when she suddenly stopped making noise. I turned back a moment to see her fall to the floor, no longer moving or breathing. Her eyes open and empty, her neck clearly broken. My eyes turned to Zechs, shocked. He had just murdered his own sister. No one in the room blamed him or found her undeserving of such a fate, but for Zechs to be the one to end her life was a surprise.

His voice was low and pained as he spoke "I know what you all are thinking. But I think this was the best route. She has always been like this. At first I blamed myself but as time went on I could see that there was just something wrong with her, no matter what happened she never changed. No matter how anyone tried nothing effected her. For a while now I suspected there was something wrong with her mentally, but I figured she had reached a point where she was mostly just a nuisance. But I was wrong, she had escalated into something dangerous. She almost killed my own pup and made my mate feared telling me because he knew I would have to choose between them. Coming here proved even more that she was escalating, and nothing was going to stop her... I still love...loved her with all my heart but for her own good and, the safety of everyone around her... this was my only choice."

He turned and I could see tears clinging to the corners of his eyes, he gently grabbed his mate by the arm, his voice cracking as he spoke. "I hope, Heero, that we may continue our treaty and you will not hold my mistakes and the mistakes of my mate and sister against us. We do not deserve your alliance but we strongly desire it. I will leave immediately to return home, I know you cannot want me to linger. If you wish to sever the alliance, send a messenger once you have decided. No backlash will be given merely acceptance and a hope that our packs will have better luck with future decendants."

He took only a few more moments to lift Relena's body into his arms. I imagine he intended to bury her somewhere he could visit, she was still his sister, even after everything she had done. Solo and I were left staring at each other a bit confused after Zech's left. Finally he spoke, breaking the tension "Life here is certainly...eventful." I laughed and could not stop myself for a few minutes. His eyes showed some fellow amusement and finally we left the dungeon.

On our way back to the clinic to check on Duo, Solo halted and spoke with a clear tone. "I can see now, how Duo has grown to love this place, and why he wants to stay. I will not attempt to make him leave, but if you will grant permission. I am sure my family would love to visit him, as well as other members of our pack."

I shrugged as if the request was nothing to ponder. "You are welcome any time as long as you are peaceful." He let out a long breath and his steps mirrored mine to the clinic where I allowed him in to see my pup for a short while. I was still feeling too protective to allow him to hold our child though. He smiled brightly and we both slipped back out, trying not to wake Duo. He patted me on the back once we were outside. His voice was sincere when he offered his congratulations, then informed me he had to return home before his family worried too much over his location.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Harris motioning for me to come back inside. I smiled when I saw Duo's eyes slightly opened and I gently stroked his cheek. "Hello there". He let out a half laugh and his face was overcome by a smile "Hello love" he responded and I am sure my grin matched his own. I clasped his hand gently and sat down next to him, we had a long talk ahead of us, about Relena.

By the time I had told him everything he was clenching his fists in his laps "So she actually meant to kill me?" I nodded solemnly. "Why!?" He practically shouted. I stroked his arm gently, trying to calm him. "Zechs thinks there was something wrong with her.. that mentally she was never quite right." Personally I just wanted to hate her for herself, no excuses no explanations, just wanted to think she was an evil person. But I knew Duo needed justification, he couldn't think people were just evil, he wanted to understand them.

I hugged him tightly, crawling into the bed and holding him, whispering into his ear. "Everything is going to be alright."


	22. Chapter 22

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OMG last chapter! this feels sooo good to be finishing up the story. This is mostly just an epilogue of sorts. Enjoy the last chapter everyone. I have ideas for more stories, maybe some one shots for a while since those are fun and I dont have to update them constantly.

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I won't say things were exactly easy after that day in the clinic. We had a puppy, a beautiful baby boy who we named Koji. His color was the same as mine but during the winter he was stark white, like Duo. His eyes were rare, one brown one violet. We think he got the brown from Duo's side of the family. However, I learned fairly quick not to joke about the brown eye being a sign of Duo being unfaithful to me. That was probably the first big fight we had after Koji was born. I was only joking but Duo took it seriously and was very hurt by it all.

True to his word, Solo came back and brought Duo's parents with him. It was a tearful reunion. One that left no one in the pack with a dry eye, well no one but me of course. Wufei and Meiran had decided to make a habit out of visiting during the summer, they would come about the same time as Duo's family, which he graciously shared with me. Duo's mother, Helena, treated me like a son, and his father, Max, treated me the same.

Duo and I had our fair share of fights, he seemed to have gained a lot of courage and self worth from his adventures and was willing to stand up for himself, especially to me. I wouldn't have it any other way. Even if some nights he wound up sleeping over at Quatre and Trowas because we had a bad tussle. But I found out soon enough it was just part of life to fight over things, it was how you handled things afterwards that mattered. A few times we ended up having Quatre spend the night in our spare room and it helped me see that nothing was going to be perfect for anyone.

Right now we are waiting for Wufei, Solo and everyone else to arrive. Its the middle of the summer and the weather is warm. I don't think it could be a more perfect day. Wufei and Duo remained good friends, and I have been careful never to insinuate anything or bring up during our fights that Duo would ever cheat or ever did cheat with Wufei. It had become a sore spot for him. After he gave birth because of how dark the pup was at first there were a few rumors about exactly what had happened when Duo was visiting Wufei. But Koji lightened in color and a few pack members had the guts to apologize, others at least had the good grace to look ashamed.

I hear Duo's joyous howls and I look up to see a black blur on the horizon. Wufei must be here. In many ways I owe Wufei and Solo a great debt. Their packs allied with ours to remove most of the forest pack. The more peaceful wolves agreed to move on to other packs but the violent ones constantly seeking to dominate others had been dealt with. I picked up Koji from where he had been wrestling with another pup and held him under my arms while he wiggled and sputtered in anger at being carried like a bag. I smiled and instead shifted to carry him over my shoulder which got me more wiggling but also a fit of laughter. I looked back to Wufei and saw Meiran and Duo embracing while Wufei held a smug look. This was not the life I had planned for myself, and it was definitely not the one my father had planned for me. But seeing it all now, looking back on everything we had been through and where we had ended up. I could not help but feel privileged.

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Yep short, sorry this was mostly just an epilogue. Thank you for all who reviewed and I am sorry it took this long to finish the story.

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